International Finance Corporation said it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Albania’s Ministry of Energy on establishing a domestic day-ahead electricity market.
The member of the World Bank Group will advise the government in order to help enable purchasing electricity from and selling electricity to neighbouring countries. It will increase price transparency, and improve the investment climate for new power projects, IFC said. “Albania is committed to the liberalization of its power market, and we have recently adopted new energy laws,” minister Damian Gjiknuri said. “The establishment of the day-ahead electricity market is an important step in that process.”
The marketplace is expected to help promote the integration of Albania’s electric grid with the rest of Europe, including neighouring Kosovo*, IFC added. Albania became a shareholder and member of IFC in 1991. Since then, the international financing institution has invested USD 762.3 million (EUR 688.3) million) in the country.
The project is implemented by IFC’s public–private partnerships transaction advisory unit, and supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Norway, the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) and the Ministry of Finance of Austria.
IFC’s committed investment portfolio in Albania is EUR 168.85 million. It said its advisory services in Albania, some offered in partnership with the World Bank, aim to improve the investment climate, boost the performance of private sector companies, increase access to finance, and help attract private sector participation in development of infrastructure projects. Elsewhere in Southeast Europe, Bulgaria launched a day-ahead market in January, followed by its neighbours Serbia and Croatia in February.
* This designation is without prejudice to positions on status and is in line with UNSCR 1244/99 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence.
