Electricity Demand and Supply in the Republic of North Macedonia (2019) [1]
The total electricity (GWh) delivered in 2019 in the Republic of North Macedonia amounted to 8,130 GWh, of which 5,658 GWh (69.6%) were produced domestically and 2,472 GWh (30.4%) were imported from abroad.
Almost two thirds (63.3%) of the total domestic installed capacity in the electricity production sector in in 2019 was reliant on fossil fuels as an energy source.
The rest of the installed capacity (36.7%) utilized renewable energy sources such as hydropower, wind, PV solar energy, biomass and biogas.
The total installed capacity in the Republic of North Macedonia amounted to 2,087.8 MW in 2019.
Total installed capacity (2019) according to energy source:
- thermoelectric power plants, 49.53%;
- hydropower plants, 33.43%;
- combined heat and power plants (natural gas), 13.77%;
- other energy sources, 3.27%
Domestic electricity generation (2019) according to energy source:
- Thermoelectric power plants 58.2%
- Hydropower plants 20.9%,
- Combined heat and power plants (natural gas) 17.6% and
- Other energy sources 3.3%.
Figure 1: Installed capacity and proportion (%) according to energy source in the total power generation mix in the Republic of North Macedonia
In 2019, four enterprises managed power plants with a combined installed capacity larger than 10 MW:
- AD Elektrani na Severna Makedonija Skopje (AD Power Plants of North Macedonia Skopje) – AD ESM Skopje;
- AD TE-TO Skopje;
- AD TEC Negotino;
- EVN Makedonija Elektrani DOOEL Skopje (EVN Macedonia Power Plants DOOEL Skopje).
By far the largest producer of electricity in 2019 is AD ESM Skopje (75,71%), a state-owned enterprise whose stocks are managed by the Government of the Republic of North Macedonia.
| Producer | Number of power plants | Installed capacity (MW) | Proportion
(%) |
Production
(GWh) |
Proportion
(%) |
| AD ESM Skopje | 15 | 1.478,61 | 70,82% | 4.283,73 | 75,71% |
| Thermoelectric plants | 4 | 824,00 | 39,47% | 3.293,81 | 58,21% |
| Hydropower plants | 8 | 557,40 | 26,70% | 879,48 | 15,54% |
| Wind power plants | 1 | 36,80 | 1,76% | 101,81 | 1,80% |
| Combined heat and power plants (CHP) | 2 | 60,41 | 2,89% | 8,63 | 0,15% |
| AD TEC Negotino | 1 | 210,00 | 10,06% | 0,00 | 0,00% |
| Thermoelectric plants | 1 | 210,00 | 10,06% | 0,00 | 0,00% |
| TE-TO AD Skopje | 1 | 227,00 | 10,87% | 987,03 | 17,44% |
| Combined heat and power plants (CHP) | 1 | 227,00 | 10,87% | 987,03 | 17,44% |
| EVN Elektrani | 11 | 58,56 | 2,80% | 125,86 | 2,22% |
| Hydropower plants | 11 | 58,56 | 2,80% | 125,86 | 2,22% |
| Others | 235 | 113,02 | 5,44% | 261,64 | 4,62% |
| Small hydropower plants | 92 | 82,03 | 3,93% | 178,13 | 3,15% |
| Solar PV plants | 140 | 23,99 | 1,15% | 28,40 | 0,50% |
| Biogas | 3 | 7,00 | 0,34% | 55,10 | 0,97% |
| Biomass | 1 | 0,60 | 0,03% | 0,00 | 0,00% |
| Total | 264 | 2.087,19 | 100,00% | 5.658,25 | 100,00% |
Table 1: Installed capacity and generation of electricity in the Republic of North Macedonia in 2019 according to producer and energy source
Domestic energy production has been falling for the past decade, from 6,744 GWh in 2010, to 5,655 GWh in 2019, representing a 16% (1,080 GWh) decrease. The greatest proportion of this decrease is due to reduced output of the state energy production company, AD ESM Skopje, which produced 6,476 GWh in 2010 and only 4,283 GWh in 2019, representing a 34% (2,193 GWh) decrease.
AD ESM Skopje, starting from 2014, has been producing electricity below 5,000 GWh. Reductions in generation of electricity have been recorded in both the hydropower plants and the thermoelectric plants. The electricity output of the hydropower plants is mainly dependent on the hydrological conditions – within a 10-year period (2010-2019) it varied between 2,185 GWh in 2010 and 816 GWh in 2017. Within this period, the electricity output of 2010 was never reached again, despite the commissioning of the new hydropower plant “Sveta Petka” in 2012.
The electricity output of the thermoelectric plants has also been decreasing. Within the same period, the highest output was recorded in 2011 – 4,776 GWh, while the lowest output was recorded in 2018 at 2,613 GWh. The Report of the Regulatory Commission for Energy for 2019 lists several reasons for this trend: the lifecycle of the thermoelectric plants has either been exceeded or is nearing its end, which causes an increasing number of defects and refurbishments and losses in efficiency. The lignite mines are also near depletion – output and quality of lignite have been dropping in recent years. For the aforementioned reasons, the thermoelectric plant “Oslomej” has struggled to produce electricity. Within the past 10 years, the power plant generated the most electricity in 2011 (587 GWh) and the least in 2017, managing a mere 27 GWh.
The Republic of Macedonia is dependent on importing electricity to satisfy its domestic needs. In the past decade, electricity imports have fluctuated between 20% and 30% of the total electricity consumption and have been tied to the variations in domestic output in a given year, specifically the output of the hydropower plants as well as to domestic demand for electricity.
Electricity Market Liberalization
Starting on 1 January 2019, all end users of electricity, including households gained the right to freely choose an electricity supplier and mutually agree upon conditions and prices. As of 1 July 2019, the price of electricity generated by the largest producer of electricity is no longer set by the Regulatory Commission for Energy and Water Services. The complete liberalization of the electricity market in 2019 led to the emergence of four new active electricity suppliers/traders.
[1] Data and figures obtained from the 2019 Annual Report of the Regulatory Commission for Energy and Water Services of the Republic of North Macedonia (RKE)
