December 2 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's intraday electricity market has finalised its integration into the European Single Intraday Coupling (SIDC) with the entry of neighbouring Greece, the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (IBEX) said.
With Greece and Slovakia having joined the cross-zonal intraday market in the fourth wave its expansion on November 29, Bulgaria is now able to trade electricity continuously on any given day via the Greek border, the IBEX said in a statement earlier this week.
The joining of Greece and Slovakia means that continuous intraday power trading is now possible among 25 EU members states, excluding only Malta and Cyprus.
Bulgaria joined the SIDC in 2019. In 2021, the country reached integration with the main market segment, the Single Day-Ahead Coupling (SDAC), via the Greek border, extending it to the Bulgaria-Romania border later that year.
The IBEX acts as a nominated electricity market operator in collaboration with Bulgaria's Electricity System Operator (ESO), which ensures interconnection with the neighbouring transmission system operators.
ESO said in a separate statement that is supports the ongoing process of market integration with countries in the Western Balkans that are not EU members. The system operator is taking part in two pilot projects for integrating with the power markets of North Macedonia and Serbia, with the participation of Croatia.