Macedonian energy has functioned for years as a system in which citizens most often see only the last link - the electricity bill. But behind that bill stands a whole chain: production, distribution, supply and grid management. The question that keeps being asked is - when one entity is present in several segments of the same sector, does that represent a monopoly or a concentration of market power?

In the classical economic definition, a monopoly is the situation where one entity has dominant or exclusive control over a given market. But modern energy is more complex. There doesn't always have to be a formal monopoly for there to be a high concentration of power.

The questions that deserve public analysis are:

• What share of production is directly or indirectly linked to the same structures?
• Is there sufficient separation between production, distribution and supply?
• How easy is access to the grid for new producers?
• How long do connection procedures take?
• Are there publicly available data on bottlenecks in the system?

In Europe, in recent years it is precisely because of such risks that there has been insistence on unbundling of activities - that is, that different roles not be concentrated in the same centre of influence.

In addition, North Macedonia still has relatively high losses in the distribution network compared with regional benchmarks, and every discussion about prices and electricity should begin precisely there - where the losses are, how they are reduced, and who pays for them.

In public, the financial results with huge profits are often mentioned, alongside the losses of the transmission system operator. Are the risks and profits in Macedonian energy distributed evenly?

If the transmission system carries the burden of stability and another part accumulates the profits, then the public has the right to ask:

- Is the current model sustainable?
- Who bears the load when there is a crisis?
- Who invests in the grid?
- Who takes responsibility for the losses?
- And who profits when the system works?

In addition, North Macedonia is entering a new phase - the connection of solar capacity, new investors and an energy transition. That means the load on the grid will grow.

In such conditions, the question of financial balance becomes even more important.