Serbia hikes power price for businesses to EUR 110 per MWh

In Serbia, electricity supplied to firms by state-owned power company Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) will cost about EUR 110 per MWh from May 1. It is an increase of about 7%, Balkan Green Energy News has learned.

Since November 2021, the price of electricity for firms is set by the Government of Serbia, which intervened due to the outbreak of the energy crisis. The upcoming price increase is also Serbia’s commitment under the current stand-by arrangement with the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

According to the Ministry of Mining and Energy, an extraordinary meeting of the assembly of joint stock company Elektroprivreda Srbije was held yesterday. It was its first, as the utility had a status of a public enterprise until recently. The state remained the sole owner.

One of the decisions was to agree with the recommendation of the Government of Serbia to raise the price of electricity for firms. The new tariff will apply from May 1, the ministry said, but failed to reveal it.

New price will be EUR 110.81 per MWh.

Electricity for firms in Serbia has surged by between 60% and 120% since 2021

Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović is the only member of the assembly, representing the only shareholder. President of EPS’s Supervisory Board Jovan Despotović, also attended the meeting, the ministry added.

The government’s decision to assume control over power prices in late 2021 has mitigated the impact of the energy crisis on companies. Prices on the domestic power exchange, SEEPEX, went to as high as above EUR 500 per MWh last year. Elsewhere in Europe they even topped EUR 600 per MWh.

Serbian firms suffered a shock as before the energy crisis they were paying EUR 50 per MWh to EUR 70 per MWh.

Within the deal with the IMF, Serbia has agreed to raise electricity prices by 26% and prices of natural gas by 30% in total between May 2023 and May 2024.

Đedović: We will adopt strategic investment projects in the energy sector soon

Minister Dubravka Đedović pointed out after the meeting that the country needs an energy utility capable of generating enough electricity, achieving a profit, implementing the upcoming investment cycle and be the driver of Serbia’s economic development.

The government addressed the energy system’s key challenges in the midst of the energy crisis, Đedović stressed. Serbia will set clear goals for EPS and make its strategically significant energy companies the pillars of the country’s economic development, in her words. The government is about to adopt strategic energy investment projects that will enable Serbia to achieve energy independence, Đedović said.