Residents of Gornje Brezani: CGES is secretly preparing to expand the existing and build a new substation, there is no project...

"We, the residents of Gornje Brezani, have been suffering from illegal and discriminatory behavior by energy companies, led by the state-owned CGES, for years," the letter states.

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One of the photos submitted by the locals of Gornje Brezani, Photo: Private archive
One of the photos submitted by the locals of Gornje Brezani, Photo: Private archive
Disclaimer: The translations are mostly done through AI translator and might not be 100% accurate.

Residents of the village of Gornja Brezna, in Piva, sent an open letter to the Montenegrin Electricity Transmission System (CGES), the Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG), Prime Minister Milojko Spajić, President of Montenegro Jakov Milatović, the Ministries of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Development of the North, Energy and Mining, European Affairs, Spatial Planning, Urbanism and State Property, Agriculture, Forestry and Water Management, Public Works, the President of the Parliament Andrija Mandić, the President of the Municipality of Plužine Slobodan Delić, and the Deputy Prime Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Development Milun Zogović, due to, as they claim, the illegal and discriminatory behavior of energy companies that they have been suffering for years, led by the state-owned company CGES.

"We, the residents of Gornje Brezani, have been enduring illegal and discriminatory behavior by energy companies, led by the state-owned CGES, for years. In addition to destroying our living space and the nature that makes this village the most developed in tourism in Piva, they are now 'secretly and organized' preparing to offer us and tourists who are enthusiastic about nature a tourist attraction - another substation, and dozens and hundreds of poles and wires, and the felled forests beneath them. Since preparations for this are underway, and no one is talking to us, no one is asking us anything, no one is telling us anything, we inform them that we will not allow ourselves to be driven off our properties and that we will not allow Brezna to turn into a farm of electric poles, and the sky above Brezna into a gray network of cables," the letter, which was submitted to the media, reads.

As they claim, CGES is "secretly" preparing the expansion of the existing and construction of a new substation in Gornji Brezni, and is secretly negotiating with individual property owners.

"There is no project, no public announcement and insight into the plans, no public debate, no consultations with us who live there. In the same way, almost ten years ago, this state enabled a private investor who built a religious power plant in Krnovo to build a transformer station in our village, declaring public interest, which does not exist. They succeeded then, but now we are telling them that this time such a plan will not pass, and that we will protect our village, our properties, our lives and our future in every possible way. Such behavior is unthinkable in any developed EU country to which we, at least declaratively, aspire, and from whose institutions we will, if necessary, seek help. This approach of Montenegrin energy scoundrels causes insecurity, unrest and enormous discontent and revolt among the local population," the open letter states.

If, as they emphasize, they allow an international energy hub to be built in the village of Gornja Brezna, neither they nor the village will exist anymore.

"This is simply not done in populated areas, and Gornja Brezna is the most populated village in Piva. If the highway route could be moved for the sake of one village and its residents, which is the best example of sustainable development and respect for people and the local community, a transformer station can also be relocated. There is a lot of space in Piva where transformer stations and an energy hub will not bother anyone. They will not convince us that it is in the public interest for an international energy hub to be in Brezna, and we will not allow them to drive us away from our homes. The public interest is us. The people who live in this village, we are engaged in tourism and agriculture, we are asking the state for support to stay here, we are looking for a school that was closed long ago. In addition to all the talk about the displacement of the north, we who are returning - and new residents of this village that we do not even know are coming after us - experience that our properties are being destroyed and that we are being perfidiously driven away from here," the locals say.

The company "Alcazar Energy" plans to build a wind farm in the village of Malinsko in the municipality of Šavnik, and a substation and six transmission lines in the village of Gornja Brezna in the village of Piva. At a public hearing on the Environmental Impact Assessment, which was held last week in Plužine, residents of the aforementioned village said that they would not allow the construction of poles and a substation on their properties.

"Our properties are and continue to be targeted by CGES employees who trespass on private property and cut down trees under wires, leaving devastation and chaos behind. We remind them that they must also respect the laws and ask - do they have permission from the Forestry Administration to cut down the forest on our properties? Do they have permission from the property owner to enter private property? Do they have any paper or document that legally allows them to do this robbery? These are rhetorical questions because we know that - they do not. People are arrested if they cut down a tree in their forest, and CGES cuts down forests throughout the country without respecting legal procedures and without respecting our rights as citizens of Montenegro. We also announce criminal charges against them for unauthorized trespass on private property and illegal cutting of the forest, as well as lawsuits on several grounds. We believe that the day will come when Montenegro will also become a state of law that will protect the rights of each of its citizens," the open letter to the highest authorities states. state and municipal officials.

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