ELEKTROMREŽA SRBIJE (EMS), the European Power Exchange EPEX SPOT, the Hungarian Power Exchange HUPX, the Hungarian Independent Transmission Operator Company MAVIR and the South East European Power Exchange SEEPEX have announced that they have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which foresees the creation of a strong cross-regional power exchange in the Central and South Eastern European region.
The pentalateral agreement foresees a merger between the HUPX and SEEPEX spot power businesses, while maintaining a steady link to EPEX SPOT, in order to create a strong player in the Central and South Eastern European (CESE) region. EPEX SPOT, as well as the Transmission System Operators (TSOs) EMS and MAVIR, would act as founder shareholders of the newly established power exchange. The latter shall rely on EPEX SPOT services regarding the operation of a Day-ahead market and Day-ahead market coupling activities. This new power exchange will be based in Budapest and Belgrade, the timeline of the launch will be announced at a later stage. The completion of this merger will be subject to all applicable regulatory and legal requirements.
The five partners see this MoU as an important milestone in the further integration of the Central Western European (CWE) region with the Central Eastern European (CEE) region. Also, by enhancing cooperation between TSOs and Power Exchanges in the CWE, CEE and South Eastern European (SEE) region, this partnership will be a main driver in the envisaged development and integration of the SEE region with the Internal Electricity Market. The project remains open for additional partners who would like to join this initiative to drive forward the integration of spot power markets in Central and South Eastern Europe.