Gas market liberalization starts January 1, 2015

After electricity market opening, Serbia will next year start natural gas market liberalization.

This primarily refers to big consumers while households and smaller natural gas consumers will have the right to public supplying and will be able to supply in line with the existing contracts.

As of 2016, they will be able to choose their suppliers at free market.

As of January 1, 2015, distributers of natural gas in Serbia are losing the right to public supplying.

In Serbia, there are some 260.000 customers of natural gas, 250.000 of them households and small consumers.

Small consumers are, in line with the law, defined as legal entities and entrepreneurs whose facilities are connected to distribution system and which have less than 50 employed and profit lower than EUR 10m.

Consumer which steps into free market and which did not find a supplier or supplying, as of January 2015 can be supplied through a spare supplier for 60 days most, provided that it turns to PC Srbijagas with spare supplying request.

The Government of Serbia previously defined the company as a spare supplier as well as price of spare supplying.

Spare supplier is obliged to deliver the contract on spare supplying within three days as of spare supplying starts to an end user, after receiving request for spare supplying.

If an end consumer after 60 days of spare supplying does not have a contract signed with supplier at free market, the right to supply is halted which is why system operator is obliged to halt gas delivery.