The European Commission’s flagship policy to transform the archaic CEE natural gas markets saw a wave of billion dollar gas infrastructure projects meant to integrate the market and increase competitiveness and transparency – arguably a good thing for both producers and consumers. In this more liquid market (with a 20 percent increase of gas traded in competitive gas hubs from 2015- 2017), CEE nations have already attracted a diverse range of suppliers, including U.S. Liquefied Natural Gas. In essence, this drives CEE prices closer to Western European hubs and, as a result, big suppliers like Russia will not be able to dictate prices anymore. Yet, the gas revolution in Central and Eastern Europe faces some challenges; the track record of market liberalization and compliance with EU regulations is poor; the role of gas in power generation is low; and coal power plants operate in a favorable environment despite the […]