Will Serbia have subsidies for battery systems, how electricity prices are affected by the increasing production from renewable sources, why the connection of the electricity market is being delayed – these are some of the questions discussed by the participants of the “Electricity Market 5.0” panel held at the end of the first day of the RES SERBIA 2025 conference in Vrdnik.
The panelists said that the electricity market is changing, and that for the first time we are coming to a situation where the surplus of energy is a bigger problem than the shortage. They noted that artificial intelligence is becoming increasingly important, and that the largest number of large PPA contracts in the world are signed by technology giants.
Among the participants were Miloš Mladenović, CEO of SEEPEX, Bálint Vass, Head of Power Trading at MET Group, Marko Janković, Head of Electricity Market Department at CWP Europe, David Žarković, Assistant CEO of Electric Energy Portfolio Management at Elektroprivreda Srbije and Vladimir Đorđević, Senior Originator at Axpo Serbia. The discussion was moderated by Marijan Rančić, Bussines Development Director at New Energy Solutions.
EPS: By the end of the year, two large wind parks will be on grid
David Žarković, Assistant CEO of Electric Energy Portfolio Management at EPS, pointed out that RES projects with a capacity of 843 MW, with which EPS signed PPA contracts for the purchase and balancing of electricity, will produce 2.2 terawatt hours of electricity this year.
For the sake of comparison, last year the power of those projects was 723 MW, of which 398 MW were wind farms and they produced 1.9 terawatt hours, Žarković pointed out.
David Žarković, Assistant CEO of Electric Energy Portfolio Management at EPS
– We expect two large wind parks to be on grid by the end of the year. In 2026, there will be 1433 MW from RES projects with an expected production of 3.2 terawatt hours. Next 2027 we will have 1786 MW with 4.1 terawatt hours and in 2028 we will have 2490 MW from RES with 5.9 terawatt hours. These are the projects with which EPS signed PPA contracts for 15 years for balancing and purchase of energy, independent producers from renewable sources are not included. We plan for 42% of energy to be produced from hydro and renewable sources in 2028, and we are well on our way to achieve 45% of electricity from RES by 2030, which is also the national plan – Žarković pointed out.
He mentioned that EPS is the dominant player on the market in Serbia, and that its position is such that it naturally has to take over the largest number of PPAs, electricity purchase contracts.
– Balancing is a financial obligation. Each participant can assume the balancing responsibility, he does not need someone like EPS, he is free to do it himself, under the same conditions, but I do not see that there is a market for these services. Everyone came to us, we managed to offer the market the most favorable conditions – said Žarković.
The panelists also discussed the phenomenon of negative prices, the situation when prices fall due to the increasing production of energy from renewable sources, and that in periods of the day when consumption cannot take all that electricity. Answering the question of how EPS prepares for the period of negative prices, Žarković said:
– We have 30 open PPA contracts that we have to annex due to the introduction of negative prices, because there are none in the current ones. We will share the risks of negative prices between us and the producers – revealed Žarković.
Batteries one way to achieve market flexibility
Marko Janković, Head of Electricity Market Department at CWP Europe, said that from the moment of the first RES SERBIA conference until today, progress has been definite when it comes to the renewable energy sector in Serbia.
– The first topics were what renewable sources are looking for in the power system, whether they are sustainable independently as projects, so balancing was a topic for a long time. We left that topic far behind us, then we started talking about resource optimization – summed up Janković.
Marko Janković, Head of Electricity Market Department at CWP Europe
He emphasized that the electricity market is changing, and that batteries are one of the ways in which the market can achieve flexibility.
– We in Serbia look at the battery exclusively in the context of renewable sources, while Europe sees it as something that is necessary for the stable operation of the electric power system, so the question arises whether we will have subsidies for batteries like other countries. That battery will serve later as an auxiliary tool for which it was originally designed, so now it is a tool that is sufficient by itself, but very soon there will be different trends, to return to what it was designed for – Janković assessed, adding that we are entering the era of artificial intelligence in the electricity market.
He praised EMS for the concept of the auxiliary services market that will be opened on January 1.
– For the first time, we will have a situation where the surplus of energy is a bigger problem than the shortage, that’s why we have negative prices. The electricity market is one big game and we have to be creative – said Janković
Delayed connection of the electricity market
Miloš Mladenović, CEO of SEEPEX, announced that “market coupling”, the mechanism of electricity market integration between different countries or regions, which was originally announced for 2026, has now been moved to the end of 2027.
Miloš Mladenović, CEO of SEEPEX
– We encounter a misunderstanding of important European institutions. Last December we had the information that we should adopt the law and that it would be enough to give the green light for the ‘market coupling’ which really changes the game. In June, new information arrived from the European Commission that the entire package should be implemented, and so from the planned ‘market coupling’ for 2026, the beginning of 2027, we have now come to the end of 2027, the beginning of 2028. The deadlines are constantly moving – Mladenović pointed out.
Analyzing the changes in the electricity market, Mladenović pointed out that solar energy in Europe is growing faster than wind, and that the price of solar energy in 2023 was 92 EUR per megawatt, while it is now 63 EUR.
– The trading philosophy has changed, artificial intelligence is being introduced. We have seen that 90% of those large PPA contracts in the world are signed by large technology companies, for crypto mining and AI. We have space there – said Mladenović.
Further development of the market in Serbia in the sphere of corporate PPAs
Vladimir Đorđević, Senior Originator at Axpo Serbia, pointed out that the timing for the electricity purchase agreement concluded by the company with the Krivaca wind farm was almost perfect.
Vladimir Đorđević, Senior Originator at Axpo Serbia
– We caught the wave of high prices, and we are actively looking for other contracts. We have several mature projects, mostly hybrid power plants. We expect further development of the market in Serbia in the sphere of corporate PPAs. We think that this segment will support the development of new renewable energy sources and it has great potential in Serbia – said Đorđević, emphasizing that, when it comes to negative prices, he sees great potential in batteries.
Important consumer education
Bálint Vass, Head of Power Trading at MET Group, said liquidity is the key to bringing producers to the new market.
He also spoke about cannibalization in the energy sector, the phenomenon of prices falling on the electricity market as RES capacities grow.
Bálint Vass, Head of Power Trading at MET Group
– There is battery saturation and cannibalization, but it is not yet fatal – Vass pointed out, noting that consumer education is very important for the development of the electricity market.
RES SERBIA 2025 conference, organized by the Association Renewable Energy Sources of Serbia, brought together the key actors of the energy transition for the fifth time in a row.