Montenegro recently adopted new Cross-Border Electricity and Natural Gas Exchange Act which came into force on 17 January 2026. This act transposes EU regulations into national legislation and creates preconditions for integration of Montenegrin electricity market with the organized electricity markets of neighbouring countries and the single European Union electricity market. Implementation of the new act should contribute to the security of energy supply, development of a competitive energy market and further sustainable energy development. With respect to the natural gas, Montenegro is yet to develop a proper transportation system, so the provisions of this act relating to natural gas are seen more as a formality needed to align with EU acquis.
Cross-Border Electricity and Natural Gas Exchange Act is a comprehensive act that covers all issues of relevance for cross-border exchange of electricity and natural gas. This includes:
- mechanisms of international cooperation in the prevention and management of electricity crises, which envisage a draft of risk assessment plan for the electricity sector, which includes both national and regional electricity crisis scenarios and applicable measures;
- conditions for the use of transmission systems for the cross-border exchange of electricity and natural gas;
- cross-zonal capacity allocation and congestion management in the day-ahead and intraday electricity markets;
- cross-zonal capacity allocation of in long-term electricity markets;
- main principles and goals of electricity system balancing, status and requirements for balancing services providers and system operators, as well as other technical and financial details related to balancing market and ancillary services;
- operation of the electricity transmission system;
- connection of customer installations, generation units, high-voltage direct current transmission systems and DC-connected power park modules to the electricity network.
In general, implementation of the new act through secondary legislation is envisaged within 12 months from the date of entry into force, with several exceptions providing for shorter or longer time period for implementation.
