Albania selects shareholders of company for setting up power exchange

Albania has selected the shareholders of a company which will operate the Albanian power exchange (APEX). The firm will start operation in Q1 2021, according to the Energy Transition Tracker.

The Energy Community Secretariat has launched a tracker to monitor the energy transition process in the Western Balkans. The first edition of the tracker brings the current situation in Albania, BiH, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia regarding the development of the energy market including power exchanges.

The process of the establishment of APEX and its coupling with Kosovo has been accelerated

The development of a competitive electricity market remains a key driver to provide reliable price signals and boost necessary investments while the absence of an organized day-ahead electricity market (DAM) remains a major obstacle in the development of competition, the report reads.

At the moment, only Serbia has a power exchange.

According to the tracker, the process of the establishment of APEX and its coupling with Kosovo has been accelerated. Due to COVID-19, Albania suspended the tender in the middle of April for shareholders of APEX.

The decision for designating a NEMO in North Macedonia awaits a new government

“The procedure to select the shareholders of APEX was completed on June 29. The company, with the transmission system operators of Albania and Kosovo as shareholders, is expected to start operation in Q1 2021,” the tracker underlines.

Coupling the day-ahead markets of Albania and Kosovo is proceeding in parallel.

The creation of a day-ahead market in Montenegro is stuck

In North Macedonia, a legal framework for designating a nominated electricity market operator (NEMO) was adopted and a proposal by the regulator to appoint the Macedonian electricity market operator (MEMO) was submitted to the government.

The final decision awaits a new government following elections in July 2020.

The development of a day-ahead market in Montenegro is stuck in the absence of agreements with strategic partner Nord Pool, selected in April 2019.

Secretariat proposes legal measures to support market coupling projects

According to the tracker, given the small size of the regional market, integration into the pan-European market remains essential for facilitating the development of competition and efficient cross-border trading.

The concept was proposed for a staged implementation of CACM to allow WB6 parties to join Single Day Ahead Coupling on a contractual basis

The implementation of day-ahead and intraday market coupling among the WB6 parties and with EU Member States is a key prerequisite for full market integration.

While activities on adopting a legally binding framework for market coupling based on the reciprocal application of the Regulation on establishing a guideline on capacity allocation and congestion management (CACM) are ongoing, the Secretariat proposed a concept for a staged implementation of CACM to allow WB6 parties to join Single Day Ahead Coupling on a contractual basis. A crucial precondition for market coupling is an operational day-ahead market, the report reads.