Albania’s applicable default emissions value for electricity is zero, leaving the indicative Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) cost calculated with that default at zero, according to a regional monitoring report dated 4 November by the Energy Community Secretariat. The report assesses electricity exports from Albania and other Western Balkan markets to the European Union, contrasting Albania’s calculation with monitored borders where positive default emissions factors produce positive indicative costs.
The report identifies Serbia, Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and North Macedonia as markets where exporters can face a materially different calculation from Albanian suppliers. On every monitored border with a positive default emissions factor, the estimated CBAM cost per MWh exceeded the Western Balkan market’s average wholesale price advantage over its EU neighbour.
That comparison separates wholesale price competitiveness from the commercial viability of electricity exports to the EU: the price advantage and the carbon-border cost are distinct inputs. For Albanian electricity suppliers, the zero default removes that particular carbon-cost component from the indicative export calculation, but not normal trading, transmission, scheduling, balancing or other contractual requirements.
The findings are particularly relevant to renewable developers financing projects on the assumption that their electricity will be sold into EU markets. Project analysis must account for physical generation technology, electricity-market position, eligibility for actual-emissions reporting and the applicable regulatory default.
The monitoring results do not establish that Albania gained additional EU electricity market share as a direct result of its zero default factor. Comparable delivery volumes, generation conditions and transmission constraints would be needed to establish whether the factor contributed to a change in market share. Differences in default emissions factors also feed into regional power-trading models and investment analysis.
Banks and industrial electricity buyers need to calculate carbon-border exposure based on origin, delivery arrangement and emissions methodology, rather than treating all Western Balkan electricity as having the same CBAM cost.