Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) sued the company Uniprom, from the business group Veselin Pejović, on the basis of the electricity debt of 4,68 million euros, which Kombinat aluminijuma (KAP), part of Uniprom, made for the period November and December 2021.
At yesterday's preliminary hearing in the Commercial Court, EPCG proposed that the judge Diana Raickovic determine financial expertise, that is, to choose an expert Steve Kostić which would determine how much electricity was used for these two months, which would also calculate the exact amount of claims of the state energy company.
EPCG lawyer Tatjana Bokan submitted to the court invoices related to electricity costs for November and December 2021 and requested that evidence be presented.
Lawyer of Uniprom Nemanja Janković he asked for the suspension of the trial, until a final judgment is passed in a separate proceeding regarding emission credits, which is also conducted in the Commercial Court between the two companies. He believes that the decision from another procedure could be a solution for this procedure as well. Janković said that he reserves the right to request from the court, in the further course of the proceedings, the authorization of persons from Uniprom and the related company Uniprom metali, who are second defendants in this proceeding.
Bokan was against both proposals, stating that it would represent a delay in the procedure in which, as she claims, there is evidence that Uniprom's debt is indisputable.
The court will decide on the proposals during the main hearing, which is scheduled for June 15, and until then it will obtain the case files from the other mutual litigation.
The former management of EPCG concluded an agreement with Uniprom on the purchase of emission credits for the emission of harmful gases for 17 million euros, which the company previously received for free from the state. Uniprom received free electricity for that amount. Uniprom believes that this part of the debt is also a settlement for that amount.
Last week, the prosecutor's office arrested the then director of the Environmental Protection Fund Jovan Martinović due to suspicions that with the controversial issue of these shares he damaged the state and benefited Uniprom.
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At the end of 2021, KAP started shutting down production cells and laying off hundreds of workers, after the agreement with EPCG on electricity supply fell through. Uniprom asked EPCG to continue the supply contract at prices of 45 euros per megawatt-hour in 2022, which EPCG refused, offering, bearing in mind the energy crisis, the lowest price of 120 euros. This did not suit Uniprom, and the negotiations on government assistance also failed. It was only agreed that KAP would reduce production to a minimum, in order to enter the category of other customers and thus receive a supply contract at the old price, while EPCG could export the difference of almost 500 gigawatt-hours at higher prices.
Due to the fact that his contract for 2022 was not extended, according to which he still wanted to buy electricity from EPCG at a price of 45 euros, and the alleged breach of contractual obligations, in another proceeding that was initiated at the end of March in the Commercial Court, Uniprom from the energy company claims 17,4 million euros.
They see the basis for the payment of compensation in the clause of the contract signed on January 15, 2021 with the former management of EPCG, in which it is stated that the contract is automatically extended until December 31, 2022 and that the new price can be determined through negotiations until December 31, 12 in 2021, with the proviso that "it cannot be higher than the maximum established price for that consumption category".
EPCG emphasized that the provision of the contract stipulates that it be automatically extended, but only with the condition that Uniprom has previously settled all due obligations based on the delivered electricity, which they claim he did not do.
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