As of July 1, 2024, new regulations have come into effect in Serbia that significantly expand opportunities for electricity producers. According to reports from the Energy Portal, households can now apply for prosumer status for rooftop power plants up to 10.9 kW. For other entities, including industries and businesses, the threshold has been raised to power plants up to 150 kW, marking the end of the transitional period that previously restricted legal entities to 5 MW.
The changes, detailed on OIE Serbia’s website, allow those who initiated procedures under the old rules to finalize their applications and register as prosumers. Additionally, amendments to the Law on Energy will introduce the status of active buyers for power plants exceeding 150 kW.
Since the introduction of the Law on the Use of Renewable Energy Sources in April 2021, which formalized the concept of prosumers, Serbia has seen a positive growth trend in the number of buyer-producers. Currently, there are 3,222 registered prosumers with a total capacity of 55.3 MW.
Households lead in numbers, comprising 2,375 prosumers with an aggregate capacity of 19.25 MW in installed production facilities. Residential communities, represented by three entities in Subotica, Pančevo, and Niš, have a combined solar power plant capacity of 69.5 kW. In terms of installed capacity, the category of Other buyers-producers takes the lead, encompassing 844 entities with close to 36 MW of installed capacity. This group includes 787 legal entities and 57 individuals, with Toyo Tires in Inđija standing out as Serbia’s largest prosumer with a 7.5 MW solar power plant, constructed by MT-KOMEX.
A breakdown by OIE Serbia reveals that the category of Other buyers-producers includes 331 telecommunications facilities with 3.6 MW of installed capacity, and 138 industrial facilities with the highest installed capacity of 20.3 MW. Notably, there are also 13 churches, nine schools, and five kindergartens in this category.
Under the law, a customer-producer is defined as an end consumer who has connected their own renewable energy source facility to internal installations, using the electricity for their own needs while supplying surplus electricity to the grid or closed distribution system.
