Montenegro and Italy are advancing preparations to integrate their wholesale power markets, but regulatory approvals mean coordinated trading is unlikely to begin soon. The work covers both regulatory requirements and the technical arrangements needed for cross-border trading. Montenegro’s regulator estimates that the formal coupling process alone will take around 18 months after an application is submitted.
Regulatory approvals remain pending
REGAGEN says Montenegro cannot start the formal procedure until the European Commission confirms that the country’s electricity legislation complies with EU requirements. Montenegro requested an assessment of its regulatory framework in March 2026. The Energy Community Secretariat sent its findings to Brussels in June, but the Commission’s assessment had not been confirmed at the time of the report. Further changes to domestic legislation may be needed, and Montenegro must secure approval for its market-integration plan from EU energy regulator ACER.
Technical preparations continue
Regulators, transmission system operators and market operators from Montenegro and Italy meet every two weeks to develop procedures for coordinated cross-border trading. Transmission operators CGES and Terna are working specifically on methods to calculate and allocate available cross-border capacity. The two countries’ markets are already physically connected by the Adriatic submarine cable.
Market coupling would add coordinated capacity allocation and trading. This could increase liquidity and improve utilisation of the interconnector.
