Yesterday, the Regulatory Agency for Energy and Regulated Utilities concluded a public discussion with the Montenegrin Electricity Transmission System (CGES), the Montenegrin Electricity Distribution System (CEDIS) and the Montenegrin Electricity Market Operator (COTEE), and the decision on electricity prices, which would be valid from 1 January, will be known today.
As Elektroprivreda waived the right to increase its part of the electricity bill (active energy), and CEDIS officially informed the Agency yesterday, immediately before the meeting, that it was withdrawing the request to increase its item, slight changes in the amount of the electricity bill are possible from the New Year.
CGES, in which the state owns 55 percent, the Italian Terna 22 percent and Elektromreža Srbije 15 percent, submitted two requests related to the determination of prices for auxiliary services and system balancing, as well as for an increase in the regulated allowed income.
CGES representatives executive director Ivan Asanović and a representative of Terna Giani Restani, stated that in response to their request, the Regulatory Agency overestimated the future earnings of CGES from the transmission of electricity by underground cable to Italy, which is why it reduced their allowed income from the item on the account for Montenegrin consumers.
The CGES stated that the new EU regulatory rules for energy affect the reduction of future electricity prices on the European market and that the price of futures for 2023 on the Hungarian stock exchange (purchase of electricity in advance) is now falling. This, as they expect, will affect their earnings from cross-border transmission, which is why they are asking that their allowed income from items on accounts for consumers in Montenegro not be reduced.
Asanović said that their investment plan will be called into question, if their allowed income from the account is reduced, and there is no increase in income from the transit of electricity through the submarine cable that the Agency expects.
President of the Board of the Agency Branislav Prelevic he said that it is their duty to protect the interests of consumers from excessive demands of energy companies, but also to enable the development of the energy system for the benefit of companies and consumers, as well as that all requests and items will be carefully analyzed in accordance with the law.
Executive Director of CEDIS Vladimir Čađenović he said that they are withdrawing the request to increase the allowable income. He stated that they are bound by the decision of the board of directors of EPCG, whose company they are, which was held yesterday before the discussion in the Agency. He said that EPCG is preparing the consolidation of CEDIS, and that due to the interests of collection and consumer protection, they are abandoning the request.
Prelevic stated that the withdrawal of the request is considered as if it had not even been submitted, and that the Agency will bring temporary amounts of items for CEDIS.
Elektroprivreda had the right to independently increase the price of so-called active energy by six percent, but it did not do so. Her item is worth about half the bill.
Minister of Capital Investments Ervin Ibrahimovic at the beginning of November, after it was announced that UPCG had a loss of 88 million euros due to the import of electricity, he called on that company to increase the price of electricity.
President of the EPCG Board of Directors Milutin Djukanovic then said that a six percent increase means nothing to them when they import electricity at a price ten times higher than the price at which they sell it to citizens, and that this would significantly worsen the standard of citizens and reduce the percentage of electricity bill collection.
Đukanović then said that they expect rain, which after half a year of hydrological drought will fill the reservoirs of hydroelectric plants and that they will then have surplus electricity for export and that they will iron out the losses.
The rain that fell in mid-November filled the reservoirs.
EPCG now, according to the CEO Nikola Rovčanin, earns two million euros a day from exports, while previously it was losing around one and a half million euros a day.
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