Tender for small hydroelectric power plant Otilovići cancelled again

The €8.228.000 tender for the construction of the small hydroelectric power plant (SHP) “Otilovići” has been cancelled once again, after the Electric Power Company (EPCG) determined that the bids submitted by Podgorica-based companies “Vigoris ecotech”, “Permonte” and “Elnos Crna Gora” were invalid. EPCG made this decision because the companies did not meet the technical requirements of the tender.

The decision was made on April 11th and there is a possibility of appealing it for another five days. This second tender was announced on December 30th and lasted until February 19th, while the work included the construction of the small hydropower plant, the preparation of the main design and the Environmental Impact Assessment Study.

According to the tender documentation, EPCG rejected the offers of the companies "Vigoris ecotech", "Permonte" and "Elnos" because they did not meet the requirements set out in the technical specifications of the tender, i.e. they offered inappropriate generators, excitation systems, operating voltages, and a large number of items were not filled out according to the instructions...

"The contracting authority is obliged to cancel the public procurement procedure if no or no valid bids have been submitted or if bidders have been excluded from the procedure," reads Article 140, paragraph 1, item 4 of the Public Procurement Law, on the basis of which EPCG canceled the tender.

The first tender for the Otilovići small hydropower plant was announced on April 30 last year and ran until the end of June, with an estimated value of 8,47 million euros. The job was initially awarded to Vigoris Ecotech, but months of appeals followed, and it was annulled on December 24 after the Commission for the Protection of Rights in Public Procurement Procedures determined that EPCG had continued to implement the procedure, despite a complaint from the Permonte/Banstroj consortium.

EPCG rejected the offers of the companies "Vigoris ecotech", "Permonte" and "Elnos" because they did not meet the requirements set out in the technical specifications of the tender, i.e. they offered inappropriate generators, excitation systems, operating voltages, and a large number of items were not filled out according to the instructions...

The Otilovići SHPP would be built next to the existing dam on the Ćehotina River, which was built to supply water to the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant back in 1982. Its capacity would be around three megawatts, and it is expected to produce around 11 million kilowatt-hours per year, enough to supply around 1.200 households.

EPCG told "Vijesti" in October last year that the expected construction period for this small hydropower plant is 18 to 24 months, and that they expect it to be operational by the end of 2026. The cancellation and re-run of the tender potentially further delays this deadline.