North Macedonia to allow bigger capacity for rooftop solar power systems

North Macedonia spent less than EUR 120 million to mitigate the effect of the energy crisis, Minister of Economy Kreshnik Bekteshi said. He revealed the government is about to change the rules to allow a bigger capacity of rooftop photovoltaic systems for households and businesses.

There are currently no rotating power outages in North Macedonia and no price shocks for households and small consumers, Minister of Economy Kreshnik Bekteshi told journalists in Tetovo. He said Serbia, Kosovo*, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries have spent billions in the past months to manage the energy crisis while that his government spent less than EUR 120 million.

The rulebook regulating the maximum capacities of rooftop solar power plants will be changed, Bekteshi announced. He said households would be allowed to install 6 kW instead of the current 4 kW limit, while that the ceiling for businesses would be tripled to 60 kW.

The allowed capacity for rooftop power plants for businesses is about to be tripled to 60 kW

The price of electricity at energy exchanges is EUR 240 per MWh, while the production price at state-owned utility ESM is EUR 61 per MWh, according to Bekteshi. He also said the TE-TO cogeneration plant in Skopje, currently controlled by ESM under emergency measures to mitigate the effects of the crisis, sells power to the government for EUR 190 per MWh.

The authorities received 6,500 requests from low-income households for subsidies to compensate for the rise in electricity bills and another 200 applications may come by mail, Bekteshi revealed. He said the government would grant EUR 9.8 to EUR 13 per household per month. The plan was to cover 7,000 households with the program.

Utilities in North Macedonia are producing power below market prices

North Macedonia is only funding state-owned companies with its emergency measures, the minister stressed.

The Tetovo Technological Industrial Development Zone should get a “green zone” for investments in the production of electricity from renewable sources, Bekteshi said and added the government is close to achieving an agreement with the zone’s management.