Med-TSO and MEDREG work together to enable electricity exchanges and trading in the Mediterranean

On 9 February, Med-TSO and MEDREG held a joint webinar titled “Enabling electricity exchanges and trading in the Mediterranean” whose purpose was to lay the ground of a common technical and regulatory framework that makes electricity exchanges and trading possible between the two Mediterranean shores.

This joint event is an illustration of the long-lasting fruitful cooperation between Med-TSO and MEDREG. The two Associations are working together to set up a harmonized technical framework in the Mediterranean to enable the efficient and secure use of the interconnected grids and to assess the national priorities in Mediterranean countries and their potential for being a part of the integrated sub-regional and regional electricity markets.   

Angelo Ferrante, Secretary General of Med-TSO and Hasan Ozkoc, Director of MEDREG Secretariat, welcomed and introduced the keynote speakers.

Kicking off the discussions, Florian Ermacora, Head of Unit Neighbourhood Policies and International Relations, European Commission – DG ENER, highlighted the role of grid codes in enabling interconnections with the neighbouring region.

For his part, Hervé Laffaye, Med-TSO Vice-President and ENTSO-e President, stressed the role of Transmission System Operators (TSOs) in establishing the EU internal Energy Market.

In a first panel discussion moderated by Simone Biondi (Med-TSO’s TEASIMED Project Manager), representatives of regional TSOs and regulatory organisations, public and private power entities, and of the Gulf Cooperation Council Interconnection Authority looked into what it takes to achieve a common technical and regulatory framework in the MENA region, in the light of experiences and best practices from neighbouring regions.  All agreed that a common framework is necessary for attracting power generation and grids investments. They also discussed the stage of development of the interconnected grid needed to obtain them.

Moderated by Benoit Esnault (MEDREG’s Electricity Working Group Vice Chair), the second panel gathered Mediterranean energy stakeholders from RES4Africa, the Moroccan renewable energy management body – Masen, Med-TSO, the World Bank and EBRD. It discussed and identified the missing links and requirements for electricity trading in and with the MENA region and proposed necessary actions to activate the right process.

As a following step to this workshop, Med-TSO launched a survey titled “Identify key areas for harmonization of a future Mediterranean grid code” addressed to national and international stakeholders, in order to collect their opinions on the priorities concerning the necessary measures for the integration of electrical systems.