Serbia benefitted from free electricity imports during the past two weekends due to an excess of electricity available on the transmission grid compared to actual demand. Energy consultant Nenad Jovanović reported on Twitter that on April 7th, Serbia imported electricity at no cost, securing 20% of its required energy for five hours. Similarly, on April 13th, Serbia imported over 20% of its electricity consumption for free during a five-hour trading period.
Such occurrences are common in all markets, given that electricity from renewable sources, like wind and solar, is primarily generated during daylight hours. For instance, solar panels are inactive at night. While producers feed all generated electricity into the grid, sometimes the supply surpasses current consumption levels.
As many renewable energy producers lack storage capacity, they are compelled to provide their excess electricity to the transmission grid to avoid production halts. This benefits customers like Elektroprivreda Srbije, which has reversible hydroelectric capacity, allowing them not only to receive free electricity from renewables but also to create reserves in their facilities.
However, the lack of regulatory legislation related to VAT in Serbia prevents the formation of negative electricity prices on the market, unlike in some developed countries like Germany, where producers pay penalties for excess electricity. This means that electricity can only be given away for free in Serbia.
Professor Nikola Rajaković from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering in Belgrade emphasizes the need to introduce negative pricing in Serbia, as it would benefit Elektroprivreda Srbije and ensure more efficient management of electricity production. Similarly, expert Željko Marković believes that introducing negative prices would encourage producers to manage their production more responsibly and avoid injecting excess electricity into the grid unnecessarily.
