Montenegro and Italy are advancing preparations to integrate their wholesale power markets, while regulatory approvals are expected to delay the start of coordinated trading. Montenegro’s regulator, REGAGEN, estimates that the formal market-coupling process will take around 18 months after an application is submitted.
Montenegro cannot begin that procedure until the European Commission confirms that its electricity legislation meets EU requirements. The country requested an assessment of its regulatory framework in March 2026, and the Energy Community Secretariat sent its findings to Brussels in June. The Commission’s assessment had not been confirmed by the time of the report.
Further changes to Montenegro’s domestic legislation may be necessary. The country must also secure approval for its market-integration plan from the EU Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators (ACER).
Technical preparations for cross-border trading
Meanwhile, regulators, transmission system operators and market operators from Montenegro and Italy are meeting every two weeks to develop procedures for coordinated cross-border trading. Transmission operators CGES and Terna are focusing in particular on methods to calculate and allocate available cross-border capacity.
The markets are already physically linked by the Adriatic submarine cable. Market coupling would add coordinated capacity allocation and trading, potentially increasing liquidity and improving the interconnector’s utilisation.