Dispute 09/2014: Serbia, Kosovo* / electricity

Summary of the dispute

Areas of work Mediator Parties involved

electricity

Dirk Buschle
  • EMS, Serbia 
  • KOSTT, Kosovo* 

Under the auspices of the Energy Community Secretariat and the European Commission, representatives of the electricity transmission system operators of Serbia (EMS) and of Kosovo* (KOSTT) agreed on the terms of an agreement on principles for their future cooperation in Vienna on 10 December 2013. The agreement, which has been proposed to the respective authorities for signature, dealt with operational and commercial aspects in the relations of both companies.

On 12 February 2014, a Framework Agreement governing the operational and commercial relations between EMS and KOSTT was signed by both companies’ general managers. The legally-binding Agreement constituted a milestone in normalizing the relations between the two electricity system operators. 

The negotiations of the Framework Agreement were facilitated by the Secretariat’s Deputy Director Dirk Buschle and his team together with experts from the European Commission. Director Janez Kopač of the Secretariat expressed his satisfaction about the signature: “This Agreement is not only of bilateral relevance. It will unblock many serious obstacles which so far have prevented regional integration of the electricity markets in South East Europe.” 

Later on, on 16 September 2014, KOSTT and EMS signed a so-called Inter-TSO Agreement on network and system operation management. The Agreement, negotiated under the auspices of the Secretariat and with the support of the European Commission, brings to an end a controversy between the two operators on their bilateral relations dating back to the beginning of this century. The Inter-TSO Agreement and its technical annexes implement the operational part of the Framework Agreement signed by both parties in Vienna earlier that year. 

“Today’s signature is a milestone in the cooperation not only between two companies but also for the normalisation between these Contracting Parties,” said Deputy Director Dirk Buschle. Director Janez Kopač added: “Both companies and governments have shown great responsibility and opened the path for better regional integration of the South East European electricity markets. We hope to build on this encouraging development in the near future with fostering the Coordinated Auction Office and other projects of regional importance.

These next steps involve the finalisation of further agreements between EMS and KOSTT, covering the compensation for transit flows and congestion revenues for this year, as well as discussions about KOSTT becoming a member of the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E).