THE PRAGUE Energy Exchange (PXE) commenced trading in electricity for Slovakia on October 1. PXE Secretary General David Kučera said that most of the important Slovak electricity traders will participate in the exchange, and he anticipates their active involvement.
The director of external communications at the Prague Exchange, Jiří Kovařík, stated that Slovak contracts for supplies will be traded in the same range as the current Czech products, i.e. daily, monthly, quarterly and annual, in basic and peak loads, the SITA newswire wrote.
Along with the interconnection of the Slovak and Czech energy market in cooperation with ČEPS and SEPS, the national operators of the transmission grids, the launch of trading on the PXE is another step toward fulfilling the EU’s aim of establishing a developed electricity market.
The effect of market coupling and trading on the PXE should be closer interconnection of Slovak electricity prices with those in the Czech Republic.
Slovakia will thus be less affected by pressures caused by deficits in Balkan countries which have been a problem in the past, Kučera said. He argues that the price differential between Slovakia and the states south-east of it will grow. The price of regulated electricity could thus fall, which could result in lower electricity prices for end customers in Slovakia, Kučera added.
Trading in the PXE began on July 17, 2007. It mediates trading in spot and derivatives markets for its 29 participants.
