Electricity prices for firms in Serbia to be lower from May 1 – EPS CEO

Firms in Serbia can expect lower electricity prices from May 1, said Dušan Živković, acting director of state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije.

EPS, and the Ministry of Mining and Energy are preparing a new methodology for the calculation of the electricity price for corporate customers from May 1, according to the interview that Politika daily published with Dušan Živković.

The aim is for the price to follow market levels, in his words.

He expressed confidence that the price for businesses is going down and added that prices for households wouldn’t change for the time being.

Of note, in November 2021 the Government of Serbia capped electricity prices EPS’s customers. The current maximum allowed level is EUR 120 per MWh. The decree expires on April 30.

Živković: The new methodology will prevent drastic spreads against market prices both when they drop and when they surge

Balkan Green Energy News recently published a feature article on the prospects for electricity prices for companies from May 1. Dušan Stanar wrote that EPS may lower them as market prices are much under EUR 120 per MWh. For example, over the last 30 days the price on SEEPEX varied between EUR 60 per MWh and EUR 80 per MWh.

Dušan Živković now says the new price methodology for business customers would provide flexibility because drastic spreads against market prices would be prevented both when they drop and when they surge.

According to EPS’s acting director, a different kind of market instability set in after 2022, lowering prices and bringing large fluctuations on a weekly and even daily basis. So power currently costs even less than EUR 70 per MWh at night sometimes, while in the evening it reaches up to EUR 110 per MWh.

It is EUR 160 per MWh to EUR 200 per MWh less than in 2022 on the Serbian SEEPEX exchange, Živković stressed.

The methodology under development is aimed at achieving price stability and opening up the space to align with market fluctuations in both directions, in his view. It would make both EPS and firms safer, and allow businesses to plan their expenses and use savings from electricity prices for investments, Živković underscored.