Serbia Targets 6,000 Megawatts in Cross-Border Capacity
Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said at BELTALKS that Serbia aims to raise cross-border capacity from 4,000 to 6,000 megawatts, with EU market coupling planned for 2028.
Serbia plans to raise its cross-border electricity capacity from about 4,000 to 6,000 megawatts, Mining and Energy Minister Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic said at the “BELTALKS: Belgrade Economic Talks” conference, held in Belgrade on September 10.
This was the second edition of the conference, which brought together about 150 representatives from politics, business, and finance from across Europe and the region. Djedovic Handanovic spoke on the panel “Energy Security 2.0: From Diversification to System Resilience.”
“Serbia is one of the countries with a large number of electricity interconnections, and our goal is to raise cross-border capacity from about 4,000 to 6,000 megawatts,” the minister said.
The capacity increase is also tied to faster integration into the single European electricity market. “Our goal is to be ready for market coupling to happen in 2028,” Djedovic Handanovic added.
Alongside interconnections, the minister also shared data on renewables: installed solar and wind capacity has more than tripled, rising from about 400 megawatts to 1.3 gigawatts. Two rounds of market premium auctions produced 17 new wind and solar plants, eight of which have already been connected to the grid.
On the nuclear program, the minister was brief: the first phase should be completed by mid-2027. Djedovic Handanovic said in late August that studies for that phase were nearing completion, as Srpske Novine reported at the time, so the mid-2027 date is now repeated as a confirmed deadline rather than a new announcement.
On ties with neighboring countries, the minister announced that work would soon begin on a gas interconnection with North Macedonia. In parallel, Serbia is working on a connection with Romania, as well as on diversifying its oil supply routes and developing southern routes that would allow for greater exchange of oil products with North Macedonia and Greece.
On electricity corridors, Djedovic Handanovic said:
“From our standpoint, we are working to improve and expand interconnectivity, to strengthen corridors running east to west or north to south. Certain sections of the Trans-Balkan corridors have already been completed, while the final completion of the works is expected in two and a half years. The goal is to connect this part of the Balkans with Italy as well.”
A regional energy summit is scheduled for early October in Nis, where, according to the minister, the dialogue on issues meant to strengthen the region’s energy security and resilience will continue.
Djedovic Handanovic described energy security as an issue that goes beyond the borders of a single country: “Energy security cannot rest on internal security alone. It is a broader topic and a question that concerns the whole of Europe.”
She also criticized the pace at which European institutions are moving:
“We would like to see faster progress from European institutions when it comes to countries joining and aligning with the single energy market, which would increase the energy security of all states. Serbia was the first country in the entire Energy Community to complete the reforms of its energy sector needed to adapt, yet it took the Commission a year to provide feedback.”
The minister specifically stressed that the domestic market had not felt the disruptions that hit parts of Europe:
“Citizens did not feel the energy crisis that broke out back in 2022, when prices jumped because of the war in Ukraine. Across Europe we saw gas and electricity prices rise, but that was not the case in Serbia. On top of that, we have been facing sanctions on NIS for 18 months, and even though we went three months without receiving crude oil, we had no shortages. Then war broke out in Iran, and oil prices jumped again, but Serbia did not see a price spike. Low water levels on our rivers affected hydropower output, but we overcame that challenge too. We have shown that we are ready to respond adequately to numerous challenges.”
For cooperation with the United States, the minister singled out the Djerdap 3 reversible hydropower plant project:
“RHE Djerdap 3 is a good opportunity to develop a joint project based on the strategic cooperation agreement with the US in the field of energy, which was ratified by the National Assembly. It is a project with a strong regional dimension, since everyone needs more energy storage capacity.”
One part of the negotiations the minister did not elaborate on during the panel, though she has mentioned it before, is financing for a new gas program with the World Bank, aimed at strengthening domestic gas infrastructure and transporting gas from south to north and from east to west across the country. A decision on that financing is expected from the World Bank’s Board of Executive Directors.
