Switched-on operator balances regional grid

SPARK OF LIFE EFT ’s innovative package has revived the Serbian energy sector and captured a major share of the market.

A decade of conflict has taken a severe toll on the infrastructure of the whole of the Balkan region, Serbia in particular.
Transport links, telecommunications and power generation have all been ravaged by the traumatic events of recent years and are in desperate need of investment and modernization if they are to fulfill their vital role in helping get the country back on its feet.
The successful rehabilitation of the energy sector is widely recognized as a prime driving force in propelling the economic recovery of the region. The regional electricity grid was badly damaged by the conflicts of the early 1990s and then starved of new investment because of sanctions imposed by the West. Maintenance was neglected and the Serbian grid was then devastated by the NATO air strikes in 1999.

Since the end of the conflict there has been a growing demand for electrical power that cannot be met from within the region. Serbia possesses significant reserves of coal, gas and oil and there are plans for the exploration and exploitation of deposits in the east of the country. The construction of new thermoelectric and hydroelectric power plants are also on the agenda, but these are all long term solutions to the present energy shortage.
Immediate solutions are also required to bridge the gap in the short term and this is where Energy Financing Team Limited (EFT) has stepped in.
Established in October 2000 during the turbulent end of the Milosevic regime, EFT brought together people with investment-banking backgrounds and professionals from the Balkan energy sector to trade energy within the region, in order to meet the immediate demands of consumers.

The principal focus of the company in its first year of operation has been the provision of electricity, explains EFT’s director, Vuk Hamovic. Investment in power generation and transmission as well as the exploitation of gas and oil are also envisaged.
EFT’s aim was, originally, to help satisfy the demand for power in the Balkan region by organizing the efficient exchange of supply from those countries to the north and west that have surpluses.
Its innovative package, which involves the geographical and seasonal exchange of power in and around the region has enabled it to match the complex requirements of its customer base and allowed it to capture a substantial share of its market in traded electricity in the Balkans.
EFT has also managed to bridge the financing gap between customers who are not accustomed to pay in advance for their power and suppliers who are not prepared to grant delayed payment terms.
The scheme is paying off. EFT expects a turnover in the region of $150-200 million in its first year of operation and has plans to invest in production and transmission in the region.