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Italian national energy regulator Autoritá per l’energia elettrica, il gas e il sistema idrico has joined the Western Balkan 6 day-ahead market integration and cross- border balancing initiative. That is the first EU stakeholder in the project announced Energy Community on its website.
Italian state energy regulator signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on Regional Electricity Market Development, and by that has declared its commitment and interest to participate in the development of a common electricity market in South East Europe.
The MoU primarily targets day-ahead market integration and cross-border balancing in the electricity sector but is also open to further areas of cooperation in the future.
Janez Kopač, Director of Energy Community noted that successful electricity market integration in South East Europe most evidently requires Energy Community and EU countries of the region to join forces. Italy is an important and highly welcome partner in this common project. The signature of Autoritá confirms the Western Balkan 6 process as robust, efficient and acknowledged cooperation and coordination platform that can and should be the central hub for bringing together Western Balkan 6 and neighbouring EU stakeholders on electricity market matters. This shows that Italy, which will host the next Western Balkan 6 Summit as the current chair of the Berlin process, is deeply committed to truly integrate the internal energy market in the Energy Community on both sides of the EU border”, Kopač also said.
The Western Balkan 6 MoU foresees the establishment of Project Steering Committees composed of regulators, electricity transmission operators, power exchanges and ministries of the signatory countries. The committees’ responsibility is to jointly address all measures and steps needed for going-live of functioning day-ahead markets and cross-border balancing in and between the signatory countries.
