ERC seeks monitoring of electricity every 15 minutes and changes to the cheap energy tariff

The Energy Regulatory Commission (ERC) of North Macedonia is planning to build a digital platform that will collect data from the energy system in real time or near-real time, as 4NEWS reports. The initiative aims for the regulator to have as detailed a picture as possible of electricity production and consumption, so that tariff decisions are taken on the basis of current rather than outdated data.

“We cannot take decisions with data from six months ago,” ERC representatives have declared, as 4NEWS reports, stressing that tariff decisions should be based on the freshest possible information from the field. The new platform is expected to collect data at short time intervals, up to every 15 minutes, capturing fluctuations in consumption during the day and giving the regulator a much clearer picture of energy flow in the system.

According to 4NEWS, the project comes in response to the need for greater transparency in the energy sector and for more accurate balancing between production, imports and consumption. The data collected will serve not only tariff setting, but also long-term capacity planning and identification of critical points in the network.

In parallel, as 4NEWS writes, the ERC is also examining changes to the cheap electricity tariff, known as the night tariff. New time slots for applying this tariff are being analysed, as a result of changes that have occurred in the electricity market. Any final decision, the regulator warns, will be taken only after complete and reliable data from the system have been secured.