Brussels, 17 April 2024 (MIA) — MEMO, the National Electricity Market Operator of North Macedonia, has been successfully managing the organized electricity market in the country for almost a year and has guaranteed all energy payments and delivery, MEMO manager Simon Shutinoski told a panel at the Electricity Market Integration Forum held in the European Parliament in Brussels.

Shutinoski said introducing the energy exchange in the country had increased the opportunities in the electricity market by offering transparent and reliable mechanisms for electricity trading and its provision at reference prices.

"Fully transposing the third EU energy package into the Macedonian legislation in 2018 created the conditions for a new era of organized electricity trading in our country," Shutinovski said. 

"We were all ready for the great challenge ahead of us because we believe in the benefits that organized electricity trading brings to all relevant parties," he added.

He said the energy exchange would be connected in the future to the energy exchanges of neighboring countries and EU member states, which would provide direct access to regional markets.

"We are working on two projects for connecting to the energy markets of neighboring countries, and the prerequisite for this is aligning our legislation with European regulations, most importantly adopting the new Energy Law," Shutinovski said, adding that the first connection to an EU member state energy exchange was expected by the end of 2026.

The forum was attended by over 120 representatives of the electricity markets in the Western Balkans and the European Union. The main objective of the forum was to facilitate understanding and generate political and regulatory support for the further integration of Energy Community Contracting Parties into the IEM with a particular focus on implicit electricity market coupling. 

In addition, the forum was aimed at providing solid foresight regarding the preconditions that need to be met for a successful and timely integration as well as the specific challenges that lie ahead for different stakeholders. mr/