Despite the liberalization, the Serbian Electric Industry has kept most customers. Only a small number of companies have chosen another supplier, although only a month after the opening of the market, EPS raised the price by 70 percent on January 31st last year.
In the region, except Slovenian, Croatian market is totally liberalized, in accordance with a Third European energy directive. In Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Macedonia, the market was partially liberalized and only the industrial and commercial customers have the rights to choose suppliers freely. The market for households, in accordance with the obligations of the Energy Community, will be opened on January 1st next year.
Croatia has become a very competitive market that is quite developed. It is also attractive, bigger than Slovenian.
Serbian households electricity supply market is similar as in Slovenia during the market opening for households in 2007th, when then regulated prices was much lower than the actual market value. During this time the new players could not enter the market and only the significant decline of wholesale prices after the crisis 2009th under regulated prices then, allowed suppliers to enter at the retail market with the market prices. And that was made place for competition.
Among the most competitive countries in the region seems to be Slovenia whose market transformation and the need for new business models will certainly attract new businesses that will be there to look for its own place.
Market opening usually leads to a loss of part of the consumers, but also opens up the possibility for suppliers to acquire new customers from other areas, generating income in the markets of other countries or through wholesale, like in the case of BiH Electric Power Industry (EPBiH).
The average electricity price for the EPBiH customers currently is among the lowest in the region and we expect that new suppliers will be attractive only to certain categories of customers, which are attractive because of the way of using energy and the predictability of their consummation”, they said.
Despite the liberalization, the Serbian Electric Industry has kept most customers. Only a small number of companies have chosen another supplier, although only a month after the opening of the market, EPS raised the price by 70 percent on January 31st last year.
In BiH, only the Aluminum Mostar decided to buy a part of the electricity on the open market, say in EPBiH.
