SERBIA: ELECTRICITY AND NATURAL GAS PRICES IN LINE WITH EUROSTAT METHODOLOGY

BELGRADE, October 27, 2010 – In line the Treaty establishing the Energy Community and the European Union approximation process, Serbia has an obligation to harmonise both energy statistics and pricing statistics with the rules and methodologies of the European Union.

In 2007, the European Union adjusted the Directive as of 1990 regulating electricity and natural gas pricing statistics for industrial consumers to the conditions created by energy market development. Since 2007, a new methodology for price monitoring has been implemented both in the EU member states and in the EU candidates. The methodology includes both the prices for industrial consumers and for households which are surveyed as agreed between the member states. Such prices are used by the European Commission as indicators for the purpose of analyses and reporting.

The old methodology was based on standard consumers with strictly defined consumption level (e.g. for households: 3,500 kWh per annum), while the new one defines standard consumers based on consumption range (for households: consumption between 2,500 and 5,000 kWh per annum).

There is an ongoing process of energy statistics harmonisation in Serbia and in other Contracting Parties to the Treaty establishing the Energy Community. So as to support the process, the Energy Agency started surveying semi-annual average electricity and natural gas prices for standard consumers defined by EUROSAT rules. However, until a new calculation method is selected, the price in Serbia is still calculated under the old methodology.

To serve as a guide comparison with the neighbouring countries, the diagrams also include their average annual electricity prices for all households and industry as a whole (these are not in line with EUROSTAT methodology) based on the available data collected by the Energy Community Regulatory Board (ECRB), the Agency being the member of it.