Skopje, 22 February 2023 (MIA) – Prime Minister Dimitar Kovachevski held a meeting focused on energy with representatives of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) on Wednesday, also attended by Energy and Water Services Regulatory Commission (ERC) president Marko Bislimoski, manager of the national electricity market operator – MEMO, Simon Shutinoski, the PM's energy advisor Viktor Andonov, and secretary for public policies, coordination and monitoring of the Government’s program, Vasko Kichevski.

“pinions on the opening of MEMO were exchanged at the meeting, as well as the necessary prerequisites for its operations. Furthermore, it was stressed that the establishment of MEMO is a step towards connecting the domestic market with the neighboring markets, which will be a part of the European market, the Government said in a press release.

PM Kovachevski stressed that the legislation of North Macedonia has been harmonized with the EU law, thereby creating the necessary prerequisites for the opening of the Macedonian electricity exchange market.

To that end, the PM added that the Government supports the commitments to bring sustainable solutions in the field of energy.

Jeri Dible, the USAID Country Representative for North Macedonia, stressed that USAID is providing continuous support to North Macedonia in regard to the reform processes in the energy sector, including the efforts for a future integration into the regional and European energy exchange markets.

Electricity exchange markets are common practice in all of Europe and the world. The market should enable a transparent price for megawatt hour of electricity for each hour during a 24-hour period, while the electricity will be sold at public, transparent prices formed only on the basis of the supply and demand of electricity, reads the press release. ad/ik/