REGION: South Eastern Europe Energy Community Treaty Signed

Helene Ryding — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 01:27:00 GMT

2005-10-26 13:20:58

Eight Balkan countries will join forces in Athens with the European Union today to establish a single regulatory framework for transporting energy in Southeastern Europe, in a bid to advance the region’s position on the world power map.
A treaty was signed by British Trade and Industry Minister Alan Johnson on behalf of the EU and by ministers from Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Republic of Macedonia, Romania, Serbia and Montenegro and Turkey.

It will help ensure that countries in the region adopt EU single market regulations on energy regarding petrol, natural gas and electricity markets.

Development Minister Dimitris Sioufas described the treaty, which Greece also signed, as an historic agreement that will help unify the energy sectors. “The signing of this treaty creates new conditions for the economy, peace, stability and security in the wider region,” Sioufas said.

The treaty also aims at creating a stable regulatory environment that will boost energy investment in the region.

The World Bank has estimated that 21 billion euros will be poured into energy investments in the region because of the pact. The unification process has also drawn the interest of countries that are not directly part of it.

According to the Development Ministry, the United States and Canada have also given financial support to the treaty. Greece has played a central role in the issue as the country pushes ahead with plans to develop its link with different energy grids.
Apart from agreeing to run a natural gas pipeline from Turkey to Greece, which will then go on to Italy, the government has also signed a deal for a pipeline to carry Russian oil through Bulgaria to northern Greece.

www.seeurope.net

WILL SERBIA BE WITHOUT ELECTRICITY THIS WINTER?

Helene Ryding — Mon, 07 Nov 2005 01:07:00 GMT

Energyobserver reveals:

WILL SERBIA BE WITHOUT ELECTRICITY THIS WINTER, DUE TO ROWS BETWEEN ELEKTROPRIVREDA (EPS-Electric Power Company) AND ELEKTROMREZA (EMS ElectricNet)

According to off the record information obtained by the Energyobserver team, a real "war" has been waging for days between the management of Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) and Elektromreza Srbije, the new public company formed from former parts of EPS which is in charge of the transfer of electricity. Those in the know are concerned that this disagreement, unless it is soon stopped by the Minister of Energy, Radomir Naumov, could leave Serbia without electricity this winter, as EPS will not have the means to transfer imported electricity to consumers.

The conflict, which Minister Naumov was made aware of, in written form, as early as the 18th October, began because of a disagreement on the price which EPS would pay for the use of the transfer capacities of Elektromreza Srbije. The management of EPS believe they have a right to privileged, non-economic prices, as long as electricity in Serbia is sold to consumers at social rather than commercial prices. In Elektromreza Srbije, however, it is believed that the price at which they rent transfer capacities should cover the costs of that service, and also ensure them a profit. In a letter to Minister Naumov, EPS management said of the attitude of Elektromreza Srbije: "If the Public Company Elektromreza Srbije must be profitable, and the Public Company Elektroprivreda Srbije must increase its losses, that can be one of the solutions, however, we believe it should not be so".
Tensions between the two companies, which until recently were as one, are additionally aggrevated by EPS' suspicion that Elektromreza Srbije might favour the biggest Swiss electricity company, ATEL, at the cost of Elektroprivreda Srbije. Such poor relations are contributed to by the unresolved issue of by whom, and to what extent, will a loan once taken by Elektroprivreda Srbije, be paid off.
EPS, EMS and Minister Naumov were all sent a request to comment on the off the record information obtained by the news team of Energyobserver. At the time the website is to be updated, we have not yet recieved any confirmation about the conflict. However, a denial has also been missed.

Issue 22, 10/31/2005.