There will be no increase in electricity prices in the near future, according to Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (Electric Power Industry of Montenegro). In preparation for the ecological reconstruction of the Pljevlja thermal power plant, which will last until November 15, 70 million EUR has been allocated to secure the necessary amount of electricity during this period.
The Pljevlja thermal power plant, which generates over 40% of the electricity required by the country, will be out of operation for the next seven and a half months due to the ecological reconstruction. However, this will not affect the regular electricity supply for consumers, as the missing electricity will be sourced through imports.
Furthermore, there are no plans to raise electricity prices for end users in the near future, said Milutin Đukanović, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Elektroprivreda Crne Gore.
“Elektroprivreda Crne Gore made the decision not to increase electricity prices for the first three months. We will soon decide that there will be no increase for the following three months as well, but we need to consider that electricity is a market commodity. We will monitor price trends in June, July, and August, and during those months. For now, there is no increase, but there is always a reservation. It is not easy to operate without the thermal power plants for seven and a half months. We are not resorting to electricity price increases, but no one can guarantee what the situation will be in the coming period,” said Đukanović.
The Executive Director of Elektroprivreda, Ivan Bulatović, also emphasized that there are no immediate plans to change electricity prices but did not rule out the possibility of a price adjustment in the future.
“Electricity prices on the market are currently around 100 EUR, and we sell it to end users for 45 EUR. Therefore, through exports and profits when we have a good hydrological year and when all production facilities are fully operational, we can benefit from market prices and offer our customers the prices we currently have,” said Bulatović.
He explained that, in the near future, there will need to be an alignment of electricity prices with the EU average as Montenegro moves closer to EU membership.
“As a result, electricity prices for end users are expected to rise in the future. However, what is certain is that the ecological reconstruction will not impact electricity prices this year,” said Bulatović.
The ecological reconstruction of the Pljevlja thermal power plant, along with the relocation of the Ćehotina River bed and the purchase of missing kilowatts of electricity during the outage of the plant’s units, will cost Elektroprivreda a total of approximately 170 million EUR.
