WB6 Report: Projects for regional electricity market to start in November

The projects for the implementation of a regional day-ahead market and cross-border electricity balancing are expected to be kicked-off by the end of November following the finalization of the ongoing tendering procedure, Energy Community said in a Western Balkans 6 (WB6) Electricity Monitoring Report.

Latest date for awarding contract for the Technical assistance to the implementation of a Regional Day-ahead Market in WB6 is 24 November and expected date for commencement of service is three days later. The contract for the Technical Assistance to the Implementation of cross-border Electricity Balancing must be signed until 27 November and the start of the project is next day. Tenders were published by Energy Community.

Beneficiaries of the two contracts are 6 Energy Community Contracting Parties, namely Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia.

The objective of the two projects is to implement an efficient step-wise creation of a regional day-ahead market and to implement a regional cross-border balancing in the in the WB and its neighboring countries.

All of this is in line with the commitment made by WB6 at the 2015 Vienna WB Summit to establish a regional electricity market through the implementation of the energy soft measures.

The 2017 Trieste Summit highlighted the opportunities for cooperation between the WB6 and neighboring EU Member States building on the WB6 Memorandum of Understanding on Regional Electricity Market Development (WB6 MoU) and the Energy Community Treaty. To support these political commitments, the WB6 MoU, initially signed by WB6 ministries, transmission system operators, national regulatory authorities and power exchanges, was reinforced by 15 signatories from the neighboring EU MSs.

“Under the WB6 MoU platform, the Programme Steering Committee for day-ahead market integration developed a roadmap for day-ahead market integration among the WB6 and with EU Member States in line with the CACM Regulation, which is supposed to ultimately lead to the coupling of the WB6 region with the Multi-Regional Coupling (MRC). The roadmap identifies national and regional projects that should lead to the market coupling between the WB6 and with EU Member States. Seven market coupling projects were proposed so far, including interconnections with all neighboring EU Member States”, the WB6 Electricity Monitoring Report noted.

The Programme Steering Committee for day-ahead market integration envisages seven market coupling projects, five of which aim at the implementation of market coupling with all neighboring EU Member States. These projects include the coupling of:

1. Serbia and Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Romania (4MMC), which depends on support by all 4MMC parties;
2. Albania, Italy, Montenegro and Serbia, launched in May 2017 with the aim to couple WB6 markets into the MRC after a submarine cable between Italy and Montenegro is in place;
3. Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYRM)  and Bulgaria, following the establishment of a day-ahead market in the FYRM;
4. Bosnia and Herzegovina with Croatia, Montenegro and Serbia, depending on the creation of a day-ahead market in BiH;
5. Albania and Greece, following the operationalization of a day-ahead market in Albania.