I have decided that the Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG) will reduce the price of active energy for all households in Pljevlja by 50 percent in the next three months, announced today Zdravko Dragaš, Executive Director of EPCG.
"In light of the latest information about the drastic increase in air pollution in Pljevlja, I would like to begin by emphasizing that we at the company are aware of the problem that affects the quality of life in Pljevlja, as well as the health of our fellow citizens. In order to help the citizens of Pljevlja in this difficult situation, I have decided that EPCG will reduce the price of active energy for all households in Pljevlja by 50 percent in the next three months. This measure is during December, January and February - our multi-year way of supporting the local community and citizens as we face challenges. The goal is to solve the problem of pollution and ensure better air quality, while at the same time providing the necessary support to our fellow citizens," Dragaš emphasized in the statement.
He added that he would therefore "ask all the people of Pljevlja, bearing in mind this decision, which is currently crucial for reducing harmful gas emissions, to take care of the rational consumption of electricity together with the aim of efficiently using our energy resources."
"I must point out that, unfortunately, a decades-old problem is recurring and that the greatest impact on air quality in Pljevlja, during the winter months, is caused by individual and collective fireplaces in combination with meteorological parameters, which has been confirmed by the Environmental Protection Agency. We should certainly wait for the announced new tests of the impact of the trial operation of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant (TPP) on air quality and, in accordance with those results, we will act according to the instructions of the competent institutions," said Dragaš.
He said that the reason for the additional inspection of the Pljevlja thermal power plant would not have been questioned if the implementation of the ecological reconstruction project of that thermal power plant had not been prolonged.
"Namely, at the beginning of February this year, an annex to the contract was signed with the contractor, which extended the completion of the project from the end of November 2025 to May next year. That is precisely why I initiated meetings with the contractors on the project with a clear goal - to complete this extremely important project as quickly as possible," said Dragaš.
He said that he would soon hold consultations regarding the urgent completion of the Pljevlja district heating project and the final abolition of collective and individual boiler rooms in the city center.
"Therefore, I call on the authorities in the Municipality of Pljevlja to work together with the Government to work dedicatedly on finally establishing a solution that will reduce the negative impact on the lives of our fellow citizens. EPCG must act responsibly and in the interest of the community, and it has a special obligation towards Pljevlja, as a city that represents the backbone of the state's energy system. The completion of the district heating and ecological reconstruction projects of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant will create the conditions for correcting the injustice towards the people of Pljevlja through a permanent improvement in the quality of life," said Dragaš.
The Mayor of Pljevlja, Dario Vraneš, yesterday asked those responsible at the Ministry of Energy and Mining and EPCG to approve electricity subsidies for the citizens of Pljevlja during the winter in the amount of at least 50 percent, given that the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant significantly affects air pollution in Pljevlja.
News outlets reported today that Pljevlja is suffocating in one of the worst waves of air pollution in history, after being exposed to alarmingly high concentrations of sulfur dioxide (SO2) in the air in recent days, many times above the permitted values, which is why the Pljevlja thermal power plant has once again been identified as the main culprit.
DON'T MISS IT
The extent of the pollution that can seriously endanger human health is best evidenced by the fact that in Pljevlja yesterday, in one hour, the SO2 concentration recorded was many times higher than in all other Montenegrin cities...
SO2 is a gas that is among the most dangerous air pollutants, and the highest values were measured at midnight on December 13 - 805 micrograms per cubic meter of air, which is an infamous record since measurements were taken in Pljevlja. The permitted daily limit concentration of S02 in Montenegro is 125 micrograms per cubic meter, and the hourly limit is 350. The S02 concentration significantly exceeds the warning threshold of 500 micrograms per cubic meter, which, according to current regulations, requires urgent state response and immediate public notification.
After yesterday's meeting of the municipal emergency team, the Mayor of Pljevlja, Dario Vraneš, said that he had been contacted by the Director of the Environmental Protection Agency, Milan Gazdić, and that he had confirmed that the main cause of the current pollution was the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant, which recently started operating after ecological reconstruction.
Vraneš also revealed at the time that the Pljevlja TPP, after its ecological reconstruction, is operating without a desulfurization plant, which is one of the key reasons why the project was implemented.
"Yesterday's meteorological situation further worsened the situation - thick fog rose high, so that the thermal power plant's chimney remained below that layer, and the desulfurization system has still not been put into operation. This means that the thermal power plant started operating without desulfurization, and this is the main cause of this pollution," Vranes said yesterday.
He then called on EPCG to, as he emphasized, "urgently stop the experiments on the citizens of Pljevlja," emphasizing that the situation in the city was unbearable.
Gazdić said today on Boje jutra on Television Vijesti that it is not true that the Environmental Protection Agency confirmed that the Pljevlja TPP was the only cause of pollution.
DON'T MISS IT
Bonus video:
