summary of the case
| status: | opened under Article 91 |
|---|---|
| registered: | ex officio |
The Electricity Regulation 714/2009 requires hat transmission system operators promote the coordinated allocation of cross-border capacity. This encompasses constructive cooperation with neighbouring transmission system operators as far as necessary in order to enable coordinated cross-border capacity allocation. It follows that as part of constructive cooperation with neighbouring operators with a view to enable coordinated cross-border capacity allocation, neighbouring TSOs are under an obligation to agree on a mechanism to determine how the net transfer capacity at the border is set.
Furthermore, the Electricity Regulation stipulates that the maximum capacity of the interconnections shall be made available to market participants, complying with safety standards of secure network operation. This obligation is further detailed in Annex I to the Regulation (Guidelines on the management and allocation of available transfer capacity of interconnections between national systems). According to the General Provisions therein, TSOs shall endeavour to accept all commercial transactions, including those involving cross-border-trade; when there is no congestion, there shall be no restriction to the interconnection.
The subject of this dispute concerns the lack of agreement between the Serbian TSO EMS and the TSO of Kosovo* KOSTT on the determination of the NTC.
procedural history
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21 July 2022: Opening Letter
Case
On 21 July 2022, the Secretariat sent an Opening Letter to Serbia in Case ECS-2/21. The Secretariat takes the preliminary view that by failing to make commercial electricity capacity available at the interconnection lines between Niš and Kosova B and between Kruševac and Podujeva due to its TSO’s and regulatory authority’s inaction, the Republic of Serbia failed to comply with Articles 12, 16(3), 19 of the Electricity Regulation, and Articles 36, and 37 of Directive 2009/72/EC of the Electricity Directive.
Procedure:
The purpose of this initial step in the procedure is to give Serbia the possibility to react to the allegation of non-compliance with Energy Community law, and enabling the Secretariat to establish the full factual and legal background of the case. According to Articles 7 and 17 of the Rules of Procedure for Dispute Settlement, interested parties may be granted access to the case file and may submit written observations on the present case to the Secretariat during the preliminary procedure.
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1 March 2023: Reasoned Opinion
Steps taken
On 1 March 2023, the Secretariat sent a Reasoned Opinion to Serbia for non-compliance with the electricity acquis to follow up on its Opening Letter of 21 July 2022.
In the Reasoned Opinion, the Secretariat reiterates its view that by failing to make commercial electricity capacity available at the interconnection lines between Niš and Kosova B and between Kruševac and Podujeva due to its TSO’s and regulatory authority’s inaction, the Republic of Serbia fails to comply with the electricity acquis.
ReasoningThe Secretariat came to the conclusion that Serbia’s TSO (EMS) has failed to agree with Kosovo*’s TSO (KOSTT) on coordinated cross-border capacity allocation at the interconnection lines between Niš and Kosova B and between Kruševac and Podujeva. As EMS has not agreed with KOSTT on a mechanism to set the net transfer capacity (NTC), nor has it determined a value for the available interconnection capacity, the NTC value at these interconnection lines is zero. Moreover, the national regulatory authority of Serbia, AERS, did not ensure compliance by EMS with its obligations in this respect.
ProcedureSerbia is requested to rectify the issues of non-compliance with Energy Community law identified in the Reasoned Opinion within a time-limit of two months. Depending on the reply from Serbia, the Secretariat may submit the case to the Ministry Council for a decision on the non-compliance of Serbia with Energy Community law.