Short description of the overall project

This EU-funded project is part of the European Commission’s initiative to establish an East-West electricity transmission corridor between Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Italy. Connecting the systems of North Macedonia and Albania will help balance the two power markets and enable more efficient management of the reserve and emergency capacities in the region and Greece. As a result, the regional dispatching of energy between the power systems of North Macedonia and Albania and the Balkan countries more widely will be improved, leading to market expansion, enhanced supply stability, and inclusion of renewables the current energy mix.

Short description of activities financed by the donation

Investments include a 400 kV transmission system from Bitola to the border with Albania, a new 400/110kV substation in Ohrid, upgrading of 400/110 kV Bitola 2 substation with a new bay, and introduction of grid efficiency components in the Electricity Transmission System Operator of North Macedonia (A.D. MEPSO). Smart grid components of this project have already facilitated the upgrading of the remote monitoring and control system (SCADA) in the Dubrovo substation in Negotino, installation of hardware and software to improve energy forecasting and load dispatch for renewable power plants, more sophisticated automated demand response mechanisms in meeting requirements for balancing and ancillary services, a Wide Area Monitoring System (WAMS), and a study on the effects of plug-in electric vehicles. At least 270 jobs created by MEPSO and its contractors for the duration of building works, i.e. a minimum of 36 months.