In the year when the Serbian Power Exchange – SEEPEX marks its tenth anniversary, we spoke with Miloš Mladenović, the CEO of this key energy company, about its development, role in the domestic and regional market, as well as the challenges that the energy transition poses for all stakeholders. From its founding to the present day, SEEPEX has evolved from an innovative idea into a key point on the European energy map, becoming synonymous with market efficiency, transparency, and sustainability. In an interview with Energetski Portal, Mr Mladenović reveals what it takes to build market infrastructure in a dynamic energy environment, what Serbia and the region stand to gain from integration into the ADEX group, and how SEEPEX contributes to strengthening the role of renewable sources and the security of the electricity system.
Q: This year, SEEPEX marks its tenth anniversary. What were the early days of developing an organised electricity market in Serbia like, and where does SEEPEX stand today among European exchanges?
A: As the CEO of SEEPEX, I can proudly say that our development, from our founding in 2015 and the launch of the day-ahead market in February 2016 to where we are today, is the result of commitment, innovation, and a clear vision for creating a stable, efficient, and integrated spot electricity market – not only in Serbia but beyond. Thanks to this, SEEPEX has, in just a few years, established itself as a relevant trading platform, not just nationally but also regionally, with a fully developed spot market framework implemented in line with best European practices. (To recall, in cooperation with EEX, the Serbian futures product was launched in 2019 and is listed directly on the EEX financial derivatives platform.) Today, SEEPEX includes 44 participants from 17 European countries, and trading volume is expected to reach around 5.8 TWh this year on the day-ahead market.
It’s important to note that these exceptional business results were achieved under so-called isolated operation – a unique case in the region, where all other exchanges (including those in the EU) only began achieving such business and financial outcomes after implementing market coupling projects, which significantly boosted liquidity.
Moreover, the integration of SEEPEX (one of the initiators of the so-called Blue Sky project that led to the creation of ADEX) into the ADEX Group is a major step toward further regional and European integration of Serbia’s electricity market. Alongside SEEPEX, the ADEX Group includes HUPX (the Hungarian power exchange) and BSP (the Slovenian power exchange), establishing a unified platform that enables greater liquidity, efficiency, and market transparency. Through the synergy of its members’ and owners’ resources, ADEX – with its clearly defined vision of connecting fragmented markets into a single European market – provides a strong foundation for further improving market conditions, as well as a robust and reliable balance between supply and demand in the spot market.
One could say that SEEPEX, together with its partners in the ADEX Group, continues to push boundaries and deliver the highest European standards in exchange market infrastructure. At the same time, it has in many ways realised its original idea of creating a unified regional exchange.
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Q: What benefits has SEEPEX gained from joining the ADEX Group, and what do market participants gain?
A: The first tangible results of the planned synergy within the ADEX Group were achieved just a few months after integration, with the launch of Serbia’s intraday market at the end of July 2023. This was followed by the successful transformation of the Slovenian power exchange BSP’s business model, aligning its clearing function and day-ahead trading platform with that of SEEPEX.
With the planned introduction of a unified membership process and pricing structure, along with harmonised market rules, all participants in the ADEX spot markets will benefit from a so-called one-stop shop solution. This includes harmonised operational and clearing infrastructure, collateral netting and cross-margining, a single procedure, and reduced costs for accessing the spot markets. As the first concrete step in this direction, ADEX will soon implement a unified entry fee, coming into effect mid-month. In practice, this means that all existing participants already trading on one of the three exchanges within the ADEX Group, as well as all new members, will be able to trade on the other exchanges within the group without paying an additional entry fee. This benefit marks the first step in improving service to market participants. Going forward, we will continue strengthening synergies and further harmonising processes within the ADEX Group to equalise business conditions across all markets and enable more efficient and competitive trading.
Q: How important is SEEPEX for the development of renewable energy in Serbia?
A: SEEPEX plays a highly visible and crucial role in this context, particularly in providing a robust and relevant reference price used for longterm financial contracts. This is vital for implementing ongoing government support schemes, industrial and corporate PPAs, and for ensuring a sufficiently liquid day-ahead market capable of absorbing all generated green energy without significantly impacting price levels.
Additionally, the establishment of the intraday spot market has been legally recognised as one of the key prerequisites for the effective integration of renewable electricity sources. It also supports the successful implementation of the new auction-based incentive scheme for long-term power purchase agreements (commonly referred to as Contracts for Difference). Moreover, it plays an important role in reducing balancing costs, both for renewable energy producers and the power system as a whole.
As for SEEPEX’s capacity, with the latest improvements, we can confidently say that the complex market framework has been successfully assembled and is ready to meet the challenges of the green transition. This in turn supports planned actions by state institutions aimed at achieving the ambitious targets of the Integrated National Energy and Climate Plan. Furthermore, by advancing the market model – including involving consumption as an active market participant and introducing new market segments such as flexibility markets and peer-to-peer trading – we aim to accelerate the democratisation of the economy. In the context of the electricity market, this means further application of the marginal pricing concept in energy exchanges, voluntary participation of market players, “democratic” formation of reference prices, decentralisation of energy systems, and the introduction of distributed energy resources. Implicitly, it also means empowering individuals and energy communities to have greater influence over the fair allocation, distribution, and management of economic resources.
Interview by Milena Maglovski
The interview was published in Energy portal Magazine PURE ENERGY
