OREANDA-NEWS. Bulgaria's Ibex day-ahead power exchange is due to go live on 19 January, for delivery on 20 January, after successfully completing the testing period that started last month.

Ibex will offer hourly products for day-ahead trading, but eventually expects to add block and flexible contracts.

State-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) is legally obliged to sell a certain amount of its generation on Ibex over the next five years. But it remains unclear whether BEH and its subsidiary power producers will offer any more than the minimum required. As the near-monopoly generator in Bulgaria, BEH's participation is key to Ibex's success.

Energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova reiterated that power generators Nek, Maritsa Istok 2 and the Kozloduy nuclear plant would ensure liquidity on the exchange.

Day-ahead exchanges in Serbia and Croatia plan to start early this year, although neither has specified a launch date.