2015 Electricity Forum: There is no alternative to electricity market coupling
04 Jun 2015
This year’s Electricity Forum focused on the next
key steps for regional electricity market integration and wholesale
market opening – the realization of coordinated electricity auctions
across all countries in the 8th region, the development of power
exchanges and market-based electricity balancing in the Energy Community
Contracting Parties. Forum Participants welcomed the EU’s recognition
of the Energy Community Contracting Parties as an integral part of the
Energy Union. The Forum’s conclusions will feed into the preparations
for the Western Balkans Summit in August this year in Vienna.
The Forum underlined the increased pressure on the 8th Region to reform
their legal and regulatory frameworks. It concluded that there was no
alternative to introducing electricity market coupling as an essential
prerequisite for the integration of the Contracting Parties’ electricity
markets with the European Union. The adaptation of the legal and
regulatory framework remains highest priority for establishing
market-based balancing and organised markets in the Contracting Parties.
“The implementation of regional solutions, which increase market
efficiency and thereby reduce system costs for the benefit of end-users,
is not possible if barriers in the national legal frameworks persist”, Janez Kopač, Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, stressed.
Recognizing the progress achieved by the Coordinated Auction Office in
South East Europe in conducting capacity auctions on additional country
borders and Serbia’s commitment to join a capacity allocation mechanism
by the end of the year, Director Kopač underlined: “If all expected
milestones will be reached this year then Bulgaria and former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia risk remaining the last two transmission system
operators in the 8th Region that do not comply with their legal
obligations on forward capacity allocations. The Secretariat will thus
continue to proceed with the dispute settlement procedure against the
former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia”.
For the first time, the Forum discussed distribution related aspects.
Recognising the increased role of electricity distribution system
operators, Forum participants discussed the challenges faced by DSOs and
how they could be taken into account in the regulatory process.
The Forum was briefed on the recent developments of the Turkish
day-ahead and intra-day market and its potential to provide liquidity
for future integration into the Energy Community market.