Electricity

By the adoption of the new Energy Law (“Official Gazette of RS”, No. 145/14 and 95/18 –another law) in the end of 2014, the energy field in the local legislation was harmonised with the provisions of the Third Energy Legislation Package of the European Union and, thereby, the process of introduction of competition in the energy sector in Serbia was continued in order to increase the efficiency of the sector via market mechanisms in electricity production and supply, while economic regulation of electricity transmission and distribution as natural monopolies still remained.

Pursuant to the new Law, conditions for the entitlement to guaranteed supply of electricity were modified. In line with this, as of January 1, 2015, the right to guaranteed supply at prices regulated by the Energy Agency is exercised only by households and small customers.

Households and small customers may stick to guaranteed supply and be supplied in line with existing contracts, but they also have a possibility (not an obligation) to contract their supply with any licenced electricity supplier in the open market.

If a household or a small customer select a supplier in the open market, and, some time later, for any reason, they lose the supplier, they can always go back to regulated guaranteed supply. All other final customers have to have a supply contract in line with market conditions.

A final customer who is not entitled to guaranteed supply and who does not have a valid supply contract (for reasons prescribed by Article 192 of the Energy Law) is entitled to the supply of the last resort in the period of 60 days during which the customer is obliged to find a new supply (otherwise, the system operator is obliged to suspend electricity delivery). The price of the supply of the last resort is, as a rule, higher than the market prices, since, pursuant to the Article 193 of the Energy Law, it is established within the tender procedure for the selection of the supplier of the last resort, i.e. it cannot be below average electricity price in the organised market for the previous year if a guaranteed supplier is proclaimed to be a supplier of the last resort by the Government of the Republic of Serbia.