Households, small-scale consumers to get official portal for comparing electricity prices

Portal switch.mk for comparison of electricity suppliers’ offers for households and small-scale consumers will be operational at the beginning of 2019, when these categories of buyers in Macedonia will be given the opportunity to choose a supplier.

This internet tool will help households and small-scale consumers, depending on their consumption patterns and other characteristics, to get relevant information and compare suppliers’ offers. According to the Macedonian Energy Regulatory Commission’s press release, switch.mk will secure consumers make the best decision when picking electricity supplier.

In addition to the offers from commercial suppliers, switch.mk will also provide information on the offers of a universal supplier and a last resort supplier, which have the status of regulated energy activities. The portal will also contain information on the process of switching suppliers, the rights and obligations of consumers, on energy savings, as well as other aspects of the functioning of the retail electricity market.

The portal switch.mk was developed by the Energy Regulatory Commission in cooperation with the US National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissions (NARUC), and with the financial support of USAID. In 2018, two institutions implemented a project to raise consumer awareness in the transition process to a competitive and functional retail market through the development of price comparison tools.

The development of the switch.mk is at the final stage, the Energy Regulatory Commission said.

At the meeting held in early November, attended by the representatives of the Energy Regulatory Commission, the NARUC, electricity suppliers and the distribution system operator, a preliminary version of switch.mk was presented, including its functionality, content, search options, and data management, in order to get feedback and complete the portal.

In May, the Macedonian parliament adopted a new energy law transposing the Third Energy Package and introducing the right to choose the electricity supplier for households and small-scale consumers, in a move which continues electricity market liberalization.

In accordance with the new law, in mid-September, the Macedonian government launched a procedure to select the country’s universal electricity supplier, which will also provide last resort supply.