ASP: Pljevlja TPP to be decommissioned by 2041 according to the Draft National Energy and Climate Plan

The year of decommissioning of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant (TPP) is set to be 2041, but this primarily depends on the success of the just transition process and the preservation of a secure electricity supply, and the power plant will reduce the number of operating hours over the years, it was officially disclosed yesterday in a key strategic document put up for public debate, according to the Action for Social Justice (ASP).

"After three full years of violating the Energy Law, the Draft National and Energy Climate Plan of Montenegro has finally been put up for public debate, which is a key strategic document for the energy and climate sectors and should replace the Energy Development Strategy until 2030 and the National Strategy for Climate Change until 2030.

The strategic document states that the Pljevlja TPP has been the most stable source of electricity for the last 40 years and, together with the Perućica and Piva hydroelectric power plants, covers more than 85 percent of domestic production, and that production from the HPP is unstable on an annual and monthly basis, so the importance of stable production from the Pljevlja TPP is great," ASP states.

"Although the production price of TPP Pljevlja is significantly higher than that of HPPs, the combined effect of their operation throughout the year allows for a very competitive price of electricity. The price for consumers in Montenegro is significantly subsidized due to the level of social standards of citizens. This is made possible by Elektroprivreda Crne Gore, which will continue to rely on TPP Pljevlja until the safe operation of the system with a sufficient number of new renewable energy sources is ensured," the aforementioned document states.

If electricity produced at the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant were replaced with imported electricity, the document claims, the price of electricity for consumers would increase significantly, and the revised project documentation and accompanying guarantees indicate that the ecological reconstruction will result in the fulfillment of all criteria for obtaining an environmental permit for operation.

The finalization of the ecological reconstruction, worth tens of millions of euros, was announced by November this year, and the Pljevlja power plant is not operating during these months, according to ASP.

They add that the document published for public discussion states that the goal of ecological reconstruction is not to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but to meet the prescribed emission standards for facilities of that type, all with the aim of obtaining environmental permits for operation.

"It is clear that the price of electricity produced at the Pljevlja TPP will increase in the near future due to additional costs... This plant is expected to be operational until 2035-2037, but with some reduction in operating hours over the years that is necessary to help meet national targets... This plant is expected to be operational until 2040...", the document states in various parts.

The document states that the Pljevlja TPP directly and indirectly affects more than 3000 jobs and is the main driver of the economy in the northern part of the country, and that in the event of its shutdown, Montenegro does not have an alternative energy source that could fill the resulting gap, according to ASP.

The public debate on the Draft National Energy and Climate Plan of Montenegro lasts until the beginning of August, and the ASP has announced that it will submit its comments on this document.

This non-governmental organization reminds us that in the past few months they have submitted over 120 different comments/suggestions on several legal proposals or strategic documents (draft law on whistleblowers, amendments to the Criminal Code, amendments to the Law on Bankruptcy and Liquidation of Banks, National Consumer Protection Program...).