A total of 3200 companies to get ready – How to step out to free electricity market by January 1, 2014?

As of January 1 2014, the electricity market will be completely open for 3.200. Companies which have more than 50 employees, more than EUR 10 mil annual profit and at least one mid-voltage connection should pick up electricity supplier because they are losing the right to supply ay regulated price.

As it was heard at the Electricity market liberalization meeting held at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce, most of businessmen is not ready for electricity market opening in Serbia. Businessmen point out lack of information, theof defining a tender they will have to release with respect to supplier selection and that the contracts do not specify closely quality of delivered electricity.

Ljiljana Hadzibabic, member of the council of the Agency for Energy, said at the meeting at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce that in Serbia there are some electricity suppliers, 30 of which are active.

- It is not realistic to have 70 of them. These companies probably expect to see how the market will develop and whether there is room for them – Hadzibabic thinks.

As she said, she is not worried about how consumers will choose suppliers but how suppliers will choose consumers.

(from the event held in the SCC)

- It is likely suppliers will opt for those who have equal consumption, predictable consumption and can pay on regular basis. The problem will emerge with those who are not grouped here -Hadzibabic points out.

She recommends consumers to ask for separate bills, i.e. one for electricity and the other for network service.

- Network service bill should provide information in which direction should consumption method be changed so that the bill amount would decrease. The law in Macedonia and Croatia implies that bills must be separate. Our draft of the Law on energy does not say that but we will see to it so that it would be solved – a member of the council of the Agency for Energy says.

Hadzibabic says buyers are not ready yet despite the fact that since 2008 they have been getting ready for the electricity market liberalization. She advises them to prepare for the conversation with a supplier in a way they will be familiar with their consumption and rationalization option or at least to bring their bills with them on the basis of which a supplier could carry out estimation.

For consumers, the change of supplier is free of charge and should last 21 days latest. Consumers who have not opted for a new supplier after termination of the contract with the previous one as well as new consumers who have not picked up their supplier submit a request for spare supplier. Contract with a spare supplier last 60 days longest and after that they are disconnected from the network.

Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) has been a spare supplier so far. In late November, the Ministry of Energy released a tender for the selection of new spare electricity supplier.

Some electricity suppliers think that certain rules deliberately favor EPS Snabdevanje although officially, same terms go for all participants at the electricity market.

Ljubin Popovski, director of the CEZ branch office for Serbia addressed the attendees at the meeting although not in the final protocol.

- We are waiting for the adoption of the new Law on Energy and to see how the market in Serbia will develop. After that we will estimate our engagement at the market.

As of the beginning of this year, high-voltage electricity consumers are obliged to buy electricity directly at the market. Out of 27 consumers, 26 contracted on full supplying with EPS and only Messer signed with Slovenian GEN-I.

- We kept 97% of customers at high-voltage. The only customer who went to competition is returning to us in 2014, Zvezdan Cosic, assistant manager at EPS Snabdevanje said at the meeting held at the Serbian Chamber of Commerce.

He says that contracts with customers will be signed at the annual level and will be based upon planned consumption.

- Our offer provides two options – unique price for a consumer or lower and higher fee. EPS Snabdevanje is implementing account managers who will take care of an individual consumer.

Until January 1, 2015, all companies will choose supplier at the market and households will also be able to participate at the free market with an option to use public supplying.

S.O.