CEO of the Independent Bulgarian Electricity Exchange (IBEX), Konstantin Konstantinov said that Bulgaria and Macedonia are considering the coupling of their day-ahead electricity markets.
In late 2016, the representatives of Macedonian electricity transmission system operator MEPSO and energy regulator have met with their Bulgarian counterparts in order to discuss possible market coupling. Currently, Macedonia does not have its own electricity exchange, but as a contracting party of the Energy Community, the country is obliged to couple its spot-market with at least one neighboring country by mid-2018. The announcement of IBEX’s CEO means that it is most likely that Macedonia will use IBEX’s platform instead of developing and establishing its own exchange.
Konstatinov added that IBEX is expected to sign a preliminary cooperation contract with Macedonia in late January/early February. IBEX is also expected to join the 4M market coupling initiative of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and Romania by 2020.
The Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (IBEX) has started electricity trading on 19 January 2016. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and the energy exchange was developed in partnership with Nord Pool Spot. The Centralized Market through Bilateral Contracts (CBMC) on IBEX has been launched on 24 October last year.
