ANALYSIS
Macedonia’s Energy Market
Transformation
Interview with Werner Hengst,
Chairman of the Management Board of EVN Macedonia
that their implementation beginning immediately. This requires cooperation on all levels and partnership between the public and private sector, but
also regional cooperation. It is crucial for the development of the energy sector and its ability to meet
consumer needs. It’s a broader view, which of course
has to start from the foundation. What do I mean by
this? To provide common action and achieve effects
at the national and regional level, each stakeholder
must first anticipate the needs that arise within its
sphere of influence. Keeping this in mind, we worked
on creating a framework that would take into account the future needs of the market, key economic and political indicators and we made a long-term
Master Plan for investing in the distribution system
in the following years. With the exception of clearly defining all future projects, this document is the
foundation for our involvement in energy development at the national and regional level.
EM: Regionally speaking, what are the big energy
challenges in the next several decades?
Given that Macedonia is part of a region characterized by a general deficit of energy and growing economies, it will definitely be a challenge to provide a
stable supply of energy in the future. It is especially important for this region because most of these
countries are dependent on one fuel, as is Macedonia’s case. Undoubtedly, the demand for energy will
grow and countries are increasingly becoming dependent on imports.
To ensure long-term, reliable supply of electricity,
the biggest challenges we must face as soon as possible are those related to providing reliable energy
from a variety of sources and with greater energy efficiency in everyday life.
Energy production is essentially an activity based on
long-term and sustainable plans; it is critical, however,
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EM: Is the situation ripe for formation of a regional
energy market?
Market liberalization is a process that is in different
stages in different countries in the region. Market
liberalization and the regional energy market concept have a common goal: to create a common market. It is actually in line with the Athens memorandum that regional countries signed in 2005, aimed
at creating a single energy market for electricity and
gas that would function under the same standards
as those of EU countries. This document has determined the development of the energy market in the
region and today, all of the changes and reforms that
have been made have arisen from it. Market players
have already implemented the necessary prerequisites to enable the implementation of these changes, but the goal remains the same: reliability of supply and ensuring long-term energy sources.
Emerging Macedonia Fall 2013 Issue 39