Montenegro is ready for go-live of guarantees of origin registry

Montenegro has appointed Grexel, part of EEX group, to establish an electronic guarantees of origin system in the country, following an open tender procedure.

In response to market and legislative requirements, and in cooperation with the Energy Community, Montenegro is adopting a national registry developed by Grexel, the firm said.

Montenegro will now benefit from G-REX, a modern and user-friendly electronic registry for guarantees of origin (GO), the announcement reads. According to Grexel, G-REX already seamlessly facilitates the transfer of GOs within the Energy Community region.

Once Montenegro joins the Association for Issuing Bodies (AIB), its registry will further support exports and imports through the AIB Hub, the provider stressed.

Klimscheffskij: We’re ready for go-live

Montenegrin Electricity Market Operator (COTEE) said it is looking forward to the rollout and the future expansion of its connection through Energy Community contracting parties and AIB Hub.

According to Markus Klimscheffskij, CEO of Grexel, everything has run smoothly throughout the project implementation. “We’re ready for go-live as well as connecting the registry with other Energy Community countries”, he said.

Guarantees of origin from the Energy Community contracting parties cannot be recognized in the EU

Of note, the Energy Community Secretariat has launched an initiative to establish a regional system for guarantees of origin with the aim of developing nine registries for the contracting parties in line with EU rules: in Albania, the two entities making up Bosnia and Herzegovina (the Federation of BiH and the Republic of Srpska), Georgia, Kosovo*, North Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, and Ukraine.

So far, Albania, Georgia and the Republic of Srpska have launched their registries.

However, good implementation of the initiative is not enough for guarantees of origin to be recognized in the EU, so the secretariat is working on a roadmap to change that.

It set a list of criteria that the contracting parties including Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo*, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia have to meet.