March 3               Stakeholder Workshop Reporting on the Findings of the USAID/USEA Romania-Ukraine-Moldova (RUM) Transmission Interconnection Study Chisinau, Moldova

March 4               USAID/USEA Black Sea Regional Transmission Planning Project (BSTP) Working Group Meeting on Implementing the ENTSO-E Cost Benefit Assessment Methodology for Candidate Transmission Lines of Regional Significance Chisinau, Moldova

March 5               Joint Meeting: USAID/USEA Black Sea Regional Transmission Planning Project (BSTP) & USAID/NARUC Black Sea Regulatory Initiative (BSRI) on Incorporating Clean Energy Policy & Regulatory Drivers in Regional Transmission Planning Scenarios Chisinau, Moldova

March 6               USAID/USEA Armenia-Georgia Network Integration Working Group Meeting Chisinau, Moldova

April 23                USEA Annual Membership Meeting and Policy Forum Washington, DC

Albania

Albania and FYR Macedonia work on agreement for interconnection of voltage transmission lines – (Balkans) An agreement on construction of an interconnection line between Albania and  (FYR) Macedonia is expected to be signed later this year as Albania is seeking to increase its electricity transmission capacities by building more high voltage transmission lines with the neighboring countries, according to ATA…

Bulgaria

Bulgarian Watchdog Ready to OK Belene NPP Project in 1 Week – (Novinite) Bulgaria's Nuclear Regulatory Agency is ready to approve the project for the construction of the Belene nuclear power plant within a week, according to BNRA Chair Lachezar Kostov. In an interview for ITAR-TASS, Kostov explained that the BNRA…

Bulgaria Was Turkey’s Top Electricity Provider in 2013 – (Publics) Bulgaria is Turkey’s top electricity provider, as recent trade data released by the state-run Turkish Statistical Institute (TÜİK) revealed that more than half of the Turkey’s electricity imports were accounted for by its neighboring country. Turkey imported over 2.5 billion kWh power from Bulgaria in 2013, paying more than over EUR 131 million in return…

Bulgaria Govt Defends Renewable Energy Tax before Constitutional Court – (Novinite) Bulgaria's Council of Ministers has defended the 20% tax on revenues of photovoltaic plants and wind farms against the claim of unconstitutionality. The government adopted Wednesday a stance on the case referred to the Constitutional Court by President Rosen Plevneliev…

Bulgarian Regulator Mulls New retroactive Grid Access Fee for Renewables – (Publics) Bulgaria’s State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) intends to introduce a new fee for transmission grid access aimed only at wind and solar energy producers selling electricity by feed-in tariffs, sparing conventional and other renewable generations, such as biomass-fired plants…

Bulgarian Energy Watchdog Approves New Green Tax – (Novinite) A new energy tax will be collected from the producers of renewable energy, Bulgaria's State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation decided on Tuesday. The charge of BGN 2.45 per MW will be paid to the State System Operator for Electric Energy…

Bulgaria’s part of South Stream energy project will correspond with the EU legislation: minister – (Focus) “The South Stream gas pipeline project must correspond with the Bulgarian legislation and I can guarantee that it will happen in the part which passes through the territory of the Republic of Bulgaria,” Minister of Economy and Energy Dragomir Stoinev said at a meeting with the French-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, a reporter of  FOCUS News Agency  announced…

Russia To Demand of Bulgaria The Renewal of Pipeline Project – (Novinite) Russia will demand of Bulgaria the renewal of the petrol pipeline project Burgas – Alexandroupolis. According the Russian agency ITAR – TASS, quoting Russia's Energy Minister Aleksandar Novak, the Bulgarian-Russian inter-government commission will discuss in April the resuming of the project, which Bulgaria abandoned in 2011 by a decision of Parliament…

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnia Herzegovina's Republic of Sprska awards concession for coal bed – (Balkans) Bosnia Herzegovina's Republic of Sprska Government adopted at the last session, the decision to initiate the award of the concession for the exploitation of coal bed "Delići and Peljave - Tobut" in municipalities Ugljevik and Lopare…

Croatia

South Stream is a step ahead – (EINNewsDesk) Despite the numerous opponents of South Stream and the opinions of European skeptics doubting the success of the project aimed at constructing a new gas trunkline from Russia to Southern and Central Europe, it is progressing at a fast pace… 

Kosovo

Electricity System Operators of Serbia and Kosovo Work Towards Normalising Bilateral Relations – (Publics) Based on its provisions, further arrangements will be made to ensure that KOSTT joins ENTSO-E as an independent control area, participates in the European-wide compensation mechanism among transmission system operators (ITC) and effectively allocates capacities on its interconnectors with neighbouring Contracting Parties of the Energy Community…

Kosovo and Serbia Sign Electricity Transmission Deal – (Energetika) On 17 September 2010, the Energy Community Secretariat sent an Opening Letter to the Republic of Serbia initiated by a complaint from the operator of the electricity transmission system located on the territory…

Electricity transmission system operators of Serbia and Kosovo* sign first-ever agreement governing their bilateral relations – (Energy Community) A Framework Agreement governing the operational and commercial relations between EMS of Serbia and KOSTT of Kosovo* has been signed by both companies’ general managers. The legally-binding Agreement constitutes a milestone in normalizing the relations between the two electricity system operators…

Macedonia

High voltage transmission line to link Albania, Macedonia – (Shanghai Daily) An agreement on construction of an interconnection line between Albania and Macedonia is expected to be signed later this year as Albania is seeking to increase its electricity transmission capacities by building more high voltage transmission lines with the neighboring countries, according to ATA…

FYR Macedonia announces tender for the concession of 80 new hydropower locations – (Balkans) Macedonia has just announced a tender for the concession of 80 new locations for the development of small hydropower plants (SHPPs). To date, (FYR) Macedonia has seen 30 small hydropower plant investments of which 16 are already operational and 14 others should be completed in the coming months…

Montenegro

Restrictions for solar power in Montenegro – (Energetika) Meanwhile, the same regulation also limited generation of solar power to buildings and other structures, an unprecedented case in the region.“There are some initiatives to allow solar power plants to be installed…

Montenegro and Italy's A2A discuss reducing costs on the electricity network – (Balkans) Montenegro's Prime Minister Milo Djukanovic spoke with the director general of the Italian company A2A Renato Ravanelijem about current and future operations of the Montenegrin Electric and its cooperation with the Government reports RTCG…

Romania

Romania, among most energy independent countries in the EU – (Romania-Insider) Romania came third in the EU on energy independence in 2012, with an energy independence rate of 22.7 percent, after Denmark, minus 3.4 percent, and Estonia, 17.2 percent, according to data from Eurostat. This means these countries were least dependent on energy imports…

Eurostat: Romania, among EU states least dependent on energy imports – (ACT Media) Denmark is the only country in the European Union (EU) which was a net energy exporter in 2012, but Romania is among the EU countries that are least dependent on energy imports (23 percent), a lower dependence less only registered by Estonia (17 percent), according to data the European Office of Statistics (Eurostat) released on Monday…

Romania, among EU states least dependent on energy imports – (Bsanna News) Denmark is the only country in the European Union (EU) which was a net energy exporter in 2012, but Romania is among the EU countries that are least dependent on energy imports (23 percent), a lower dependence less only registered by Estonia (17 percent), according to data the European Office of Statistics (Eurostat) released on Monday…

Romania's industrial consumers worried over liberalization of energy market – (Balkans) Representatives of Romania's big industrial consumers warned the liberalization of the energy markets and the renewable subsidies have built up their costs to unsustainable levels, which may result into industrial relocations and job losses in Romania. They are seeking exemptions from paying green taxes and are calling for a transition period on energy costs deregulation…

Vestas secures 84MW service agreement in Romania – (OnlineTes) Aarhus, Denmark - Vestas has secured a 15-year service contract covering 42 V90-2.0MW turbines at the Topolog Dorobantu wind power plant in Tulcea County in Romania.  The last of the 42 turbines is expected to be installed within April this year. The order has been placed by LUKERG Renew, a joint venture between ERG Renew and LUKOIL…

Transgaz and Transelectrica switch to SGG: regulator cannot be administrator too – (ACTMedia) Prime Minister Victor Ponta explained on Friday the switch of the Transgaz and Transelectrica companies under the authority of the General Secretariat of the Government (SGG) and said that the Ministry of Finance had the reform of the system of royalties, fees and taxes as it objective and the 'regulator cannot be an administrator too…

Romania - a Peasants Revolt against fracking – (Ecologist) Earthquakes and poisoned wells are setting off a revolt against fracking in Romania, revealing deep fault lines between the rural heartlands and the urban political elite. Jim Wickens & Paraic O'Brien report on a country at war with itself…

Carbon capture and storage "stalling" in Europe, industry warns – (Business Green) The carbon capture and storage (CCS) industry in Europe has "stalled", with North America and China moving ahead in the race to develop a technology seen as vital to global emission reduction efforts…

EU electricity market capacity mechanisms ‘unavoidable’ – (Platts) "In a renewables system, capacity will be scarce and energy potentially abundant," said Andreas Regnell, head of strategy and sustainability at Swedish utility Vattenfall.   Renewables' share of the EU's electricity market is expected to reach about 35% by 2020, and the European Commission has recommended it reach up to 45% by 2030 as part of the EU's long-term drive to decarbonize its economy…

Nuclear and renewables now produce more than half of Europe's energy – (Click Green) Nuclear and renewable energy now contribute to over half of Europe's energy generating capacity, according to official figures published today.  And over the last two decades, gross inland energy consumption in the EU group of 28 countries…

Transelectrica's 2013 net profit exceeds RON 162 million, up almost five times – (ACT Media) Romania's Transelectrica national electricity transmission system operator ended 2013 on a net profit worth RON 162.29 million (about 36 million euros), up almost five times from 2012, when it reported a RON 34.48 million profit, according to preliminary financial reports submitted to the Bucharest Stock Exchange on Monday…

Romania: 2013 was an excellent year for Transelectrica – (Balkans) Romanian state-owned power grid operator Transelectrica (TEL.RO) Monday said its net profit rose to RON 162.3 million (EUR36.2 million) in 2013,  from RON36.5 million in the previous year.  The state company also reported that its revenue decreased by 10.8 percent, dropping to RON 1.46 billion (EUR 558.32 million) from RON 2.76 billion in 2012…

Serbia

Serbia: Kolumbara exceeds the planned coal output – (Balkans) First Deputy Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic said that the mining basin Kolubara has exceeded the planned coal output by one million tonne, and that the 26-year-old record of 116,000 tonnes produced in a single day was broken on 8 February…

EBRD supports resources efficiency at Atlantic Grupa Serbia – (Financial) The EBRD is providing a €5 million loan to Atlantic Grupa’s Serbian operations for energy efficiency and resource efficiency improvements. Croatia’s Atlantic Grupa d.d. is one of the biggest regional food producers in south-eastern Europe. The EBRD financing is part of a wider package arranged in November 2012, according to EBRD…

Electricity System Operators of Serbia and Kosovo Work Towards Normalising Bilateral Relations – (Public.BG) Based on its provisions, further arrangements will be made to ensure that KOSTT joins ENTSO-E as an independent control area, participates in the European-wide compensation mechanism among transmission system operators (ITC) and effectively allocates capacities on its interconnectors with neighbouring Contracting Parties of the Energy Community..

Armenia

Value of gas thermal power discussed in Armenia – (Armenia Now) The doubts of heads of nongovernmental organizations dealing with consumer rights protection have “almost been dispelled” regarding the calorific value of natural gas supplied to consumers by Russian energy giant Gazprom’s subsidiary in Armenia…

Armenian government apparatus authorized to form common information space with customs union (ARKA) Armenian government apparatus has been authorized to deal with formation of a common information space with the Customs Union of Russia, Kazakhstan and Belarus, economy minister Vahram Avanesyan said today…

Deputy minister: It is unclear what kind of problem exists with gas – (Aysor) “There a problem with natural gas quality in Armenia, but it is unclear what kind of problem it is,” Deputy Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Levon Shahverdian said at a meeting with journalists today…

Caloric value of natural gas supplied to Armenian households within permissible standard – consumer watchdog says – (ARKA)  The caloric value of Russian natural gas supplied to Armenian households is within the permissible norms, head of an Armenian consumer watchdog, Armen Poghosyan, told a news conference today citing the findings of an examination…

Azerbaijan

With TANAP, Azerbaijan aims to assist Turkey to become an energy hub in the region as the cheapest and most strategic gas provider of Turkey – (APA) Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) will ensure Turkey’s energy security and will transform Turkey into an energy hub in the region, says Samir Kerimli, the First Deputy Managing Director of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) in Turkey…

Azeri BP-Operated Oil Output Down, Gas Up In 2013 – (Ridzone) Output at BP-led oilfields in Azerbaijan fell 2.2 percent in 2013 while gas output from the Shah Deniz field rose, BP-Azerbaijan said on Thursday…

Sumgait TPP in Azerbaijan increases electricity production – (Trend) In January 2014, the thermal power plant (TPP) in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait generated 310.4 million kilowatt/hours of electricity against 277 million kilowatt/hours in January 2013, according to a message from Azerenergy JSC which deals with production and distribution of electricity in Azerbaijan…

Azerbaijani hydro-power plants increase electricity generation – (Trend) Around 2.1 billion kilowatt/hours of marketable electricity was generated in Azerbaijan in January which is three percent more than the same period of 2013…

Azerbaijan’s power generation at hydroelectric power plants fell to 3.5% of total power generation – (ABC.AZ) Baku, Fineko/abc.az. The State Statistics Committee reports that the hydropower plant crisis which started in Azerbaijan in 2012 only increased in 2014…

Georgia

EU to back Georgia's energy reforms –(Azernews) Tbilisi has hosted a meeting of representatives of the Georgian Energy Ministry and EU Energy Cooperation Programme INOGATE delegates …

Georgia to join European Energy Association by October – (Trend) Georgia will join the European Energy Association in six to eight months, European Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger said at a joint press conference with Georgian Foreign Minister Maia Panjikidze on Feb. 20…

Georgia Opens Talks to Join Europe's Energy Community – (Civil) Georgia launched on February 20 negotiations with the European Commission on joining the Energy Community, organization which fosters energy market cooperation between the EU and neighboring countries…

Commission launches negotiations with Georgia to join the Energy Community – (Europa.eu) Today the European Commission and Georgia launched negotiations for Georgia's accession to the Energy Community. The negotiations in Tbilisi were held in the presence of Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger…

European Commission launches negotiations with Georgia to join the Energy Community – (Energy Community) Today the European Commission and Georgia launched negotiations for Georgia's accession to the Energy Community. The negotiations in Tbilisi were held in the presence of Energy Commissioner Günther Oettinger, for the European Commission…

‘Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Energy Bridge’ project nearing completion – (Trend) The implementation of the 'Azerbaijan-Georgia-Turkey Energy Bridge' project is in the process of commercial talks, a source close to the project told Trend…

Georgia, EU discuss implementation of Shah Deniz-2 project – (Trend) Georgian Prime Minister Irakli Garibashvili has held a meeting with the European Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger in Tbilisi. During the meeting the parties discussed the prospects of the country's accession to the European Energy Association, the office of the Georgian prime minister told Trend on Feb.20…

Turkey

Wind farms are quickly taking off in Turkey – (Balkans) Harnessing the power of the wind to generate electricity is quickly taking off in Turkey. The turbines being erected all around the wind-swept country have reached 3 gigawatts (GW) of total installed capacity as of the end of 2013, making Turkey one of the top 10 wind energy producers in Europe…

Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) will ensure Turkey’s energy security and will transform Turkey into an energy hub in the region, says Samir Kerimli, the First Deputy Managing Director of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) in Turkey.New head for Turkey's energy regulating authority – (World Bulletin) Mustafa Yilmaz is appointed president of Turkey's energy regulating authority (EMRA) in an announcement in the official government gazette on Thursday…

Energy: Key to EU-Turkish relations? – (Aljazeera) The relationship between the EU and Turkey has been rather icy for the past few years. Accession talks between the European Union (EU) and Turkey had been practically frozen until last November…

New Board of Directors of EPDK appointed in Turkey – (Trend) A new Board of Directors of the Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) was appointed in Turkey, the Turkish Anadolu news agency reported on Feb. 20…

Turkey to save $275 billion biomass energy – (Renwealesbiz) " Turkey saves $5.5 billion every year in natural gas imports, due to renewable energy plants constructed in the last 10 years," says Turkey's energy minister…

Turkey woos foreign investment to reduce energy import bill – (Shanghai daily) Turkey is hungry for foreign investment to reduce energy import bill which will amount 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars between 2013 and 2030, according to experts at an oil and gas meeting here on Tuesday…

Nuclear power improves Turkey's energy diversification plan – (World Bulletin) A nuclear initiative will significantly change Turkey's energy diversification in the next 10 years, Turkey's Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Thursday…

Turkey to become energy hub with 'TANAP' – (World Bulletin) Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline (TANAP) will ensure Turkey’s energy security and will transform Turkey into an energy hub in the region, says Samir Kerimli, the First Deputy Managing Director of the State Oil Company of the Azerbaijan Republic (SOCAR) in Turkey…

Ukraine

Rengy Development to build 4.5 MW solar power plant in Ukraine – (Penn Energy) Ukraine-based utility Rengy Development commissioned the first solar photovoltaic plant in the Ukraine funded by the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD), SolarServer reported…

First EBRD-funded solar PV plant commissioned in Ukraine – (PV Magazine) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development has supported the commissioning of a 4.5 MW plant in Ukraine's Vinnitsa Oblast to the tune of €4.1 million…

EIB freezes activities in Ukraine over violence, EBRD scales back – (Reuters) The European Investment Bank (EIB) said on Wednesday it had frozen its activities in Ukraine after at least 26 people died in the worst violence since the former Soviet republic gained independence…

This program is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the United States Energy Association and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.