Open electricity market for high-voltage customers has started functioning in Serbia - the Electric Power Company of Serbia (EPS) announced that it would cease to supply the Messer company with electricity because that company had signed a supply agreement with the Slovenian electricity trader GEN-I. All interested companies can now find suppliers other than EPS. Messer is one of the bigger high-voltage customers because this company's consumption accounts for about 5 percent of the total consumption of all customers in the open market, EPS said in a release. By the way, EPS has signed agreements with 18 out of the total of 26 high-voltage customers because the Energy Law stipulates that all large customers must have electricity supply agreements as of 1 January 2013. The Serbian government made a decision on January 29th on the appointment of EPS as a temporary spare supplier as of February 1st for all those who have failed to sign agreements, and EPS will serve as a temporary spare supplier until a tender for spare suppliers is announced. Source; SIEPA