Page 132 - bne IntelliNews Southeastern Europe Outlook 2025

Additionally, 99.9% of the country’s coal consumption was used for electricity generation.
In the same month, imports of electricity rose by 5.9% year-on-year to 151.7 GWh, while exports increased by 13.9% y/y to 151.5 GWh.
In November 2024, North Macedonia’s state-run energy producer, ESM signed an MoU with SOCAR, Azerbaijan’s national oil and gas company, to enhance the stability of the country’s natural gas supply.
ESM announced that the agreement aims to improve the availability and purchasing options for natural gas, ensuring a stable supply at competitive prices within the framework of legal regulations.
Under the new agreement, ESM will receive gas from SOCAR for heating and electricity production starting in the last quarter of this year, with expectations of achieving lower prices.
One of the key projects being implemented by the country is the construction of a gas interconnector with Greece. The project was initially agreed upon by the previous Social Democrat government led by Zoran Zaev and is being continued under the VMRO-DPMNE government led by Hristijan Mickoski.
Mickoski expressed confidence that contracts for the construction of the natural gas interconnector with Greece will be signed by the end of 2024, with on-the-ground work expected to commence in the spring of 2025. The 123-kilometre interconnector will include 67 kilometres of pipeline running from Gevgelija to Negotino on the Macedonian side.
Currently, North Macedonia’s sole gas supply route is through Bulgaria. This new project, stemming from a 2021 agreement between Athens and Skopje, aims to strengthen the country’s energy security and diversify its energy sources.
According to gas operator Nomagas, five companies have submitted bids, including four foreign firms. These include one local company, two Italian firms, and one each from Turkey and Serbia.
The pipeline, with an initial capacity of 1.5 bcm annually and the potential to expand to 3 bcm, will also facilitate the transport of hydrogen.
7.9 Energy & Power – Romania
Romania’s energy sector is developing along three main dimensions and recorded progress along each of the three axes in 2024: renewables, nuclear and natural gas. On the downside, the aggressive phasing out of coal fired units and adverse hydrological year combined with renewable power capacity not matched by storage capacity resulted in net electricity imports and record instant imports at times. The complicated energy price regulations have also created problems and the termination of the price-capping regime in April 2025 may result
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