What the ZelEPS offer means, how the guarantees of origin for that energy work and what customers get by supplying green energy were the main topics of the forum for commercial customers from the area of Nis. After the presentation in Belgrade and Novi Sad, more than 30 businessmen from the area of Nis were introduced to the offer of ZelEPS. Details about what kind of energy it is, how to get a guarantee of origin, how customers use that energy and the package were explained by Bratislav Dzombic, director of the Sector for Free Market Development in “EPS Supply”.
– Electric Power Industry of Serbia has been contributing to raising awareness of the importance of renewable energy sources for more than two years with the ZelEPS package. ZelEPS guarantees customers the environmental origin of electricity, and customers receive an electronic document that proves that it is produced only using renewable energy sources – said Dzombic. – The guarantee of origin can be obtained only by producers such as Electric Power Industry of Serbia and at the request of the producer, the guarantee of origin is issued by the transmission system operator “Elektromreza Srbije”. EMS became a full member of the AIB (European Association of Issuing Bodies) in 2019 and the Serbian market was integrated into the EU market.
Bojan Gajic, energy manager of the City of Nis, addressed the participants of the forum on behalf of Dragana Sotirovski, Mayor of Nis, and presented the plans and ideas of this city in the field of green energy and energy efficiency.
– The city of Nis is the only city in Serbia that is a signatory of the Charter of Mayors, the largest international initiative of the European Commission, which was joined by more than 10,000 cities and municipalities from all over Europe. Nis has fulfilled its obligation, which includes the preparation and submission of an action plan for sustainable energy development, and one of the activities is the procurement and use of green energy for the consumption of public buildings and public lighting – said Gajic.
He also mentioned projects related to the use of solar potential, as well as the preparation of a roadmap for the energy transition until 2050.
Dzombic pointed out that the procedure for the ZelEPS package is very simple and can be implemented on already existing contracts. The buyers were most interested in whether and in what way they can use the certificates on the guarantee of the origin of energy with which they would be supplied, as well as what are the further plans of EPS in that area.
The first buyer of the ZelEPS package was Procredit Bank. In addition to banks, EPS green energy has so far been purchased mainly by companies engaged in industrial production. Large companies such as Lidl, Tigar, British American Tobacco, Zdravlje from Leskovac, Strauss Adriatic, Froneri Adriatic, as well as many others, have recognized the importance of green energy.
The number of interested customers for ZelEPS is constantly growing. The sold green energy with a guarantee of origin in 2020 was ten times higher than in 2019. The amount agreed for this year is currently 50 percent higher than in 2020.
EPS green energy is produced in 15 hydroelectric power plants with a capacity of 3,015 megawatts, which is 38 percent of EPS’s energy potential, and a third of the total production is realized in hydroelectric power plants. The use of other sources of green energy, such as wind and sunlight, is also planned, Electric Power Industry of Serbia reports.
