Member of the Board of the Regulatory Agency for Energy and Regulated Utilities (REGAGEN) Miomir of Skopje sent a letter to all parliamentary groups in the Assembly requesting that the procedure for the dismissal of the president of the REGAGEN Committee be initiated Veljko Vasiljević because he believes that he violated several articles of the Energy Law because he is simultaneously engaged in working bodies and committees of the Electric Power Company, which the Agency supervises, but also because he was sent several insults and threats when he requested that official trips be suspended until they are approved by the agency's board.
The agency is responsible for determining the regulatory allowed revenue for energy companies and Montenegrin water utilities, i.e. determining electricity and water prices, as well as supervising and issuing licenses for energy companies.
Škopelja confirmed to "Vijesti" that he submitted the letter with the documentation to the parliamentary groups on Thursday last week, and that he filed a police report against Vasiljević for threats and insults on January 23. He did not want to explain the case in more detail, stating that he explained everything to the MPs who elected them and that the decision was up to them.
"Vijesti" sent Vasiljević questions regarding the Škopelja accusations yesterday morning, which he did not agree to answer.
The Assembly has Vasiljević, Škopelja and a third member Milica Petrovic Simonovic elected in May last year after a competition, although the EU Delegation in Montenegro had previously officially announced that the competition needed to be aligned with European directives and re-announced. Petrović Simonović has not been participating in the work of the board for a long time due to illness, and due to the conflict between the remaining two members, the vote was often one for - one against, which is why some decisions were not adopted. In the meantime, a new member has been elected to replace Škopelja, who will be eligible for retirement next month.
In the documentation available in the parliamentary clubs, Škopelja states that he is not comfortable with ending his working life in this way, but that he considered submitting this initiative the best thing he could do in the current situation.
Škopelja states that the income and asset records show that Vasiljević was engaged in working bodies to which he was appointed by the EPCG group at the "EPCG Steel Plant" and on the relocation of Ćehotina when he was elected president of the REGAGEN board, and that these contracts with remuneration continued after his appointment.
He points out that according to the Energy Law, a person who has a personal interest in an energy company to which the Agency issues a license to perform activities cannot be elected as the president of the board, and that the president of the board cannot have an employment relationship and receive compensation from energy entities during the term of office and within a year after its expiration.
He told the deputies that the Law provides for the possibility of dismissing the chairman of the board if a conflict of interest is established, if he submits an incorrect statement regarding the existence of a conflict of interest and if he does not comply with the code of conduct. He pointed out that according to Vasiljević's asset files, at the time of his election as chairman of the board of directors, he was a member of the board of directors of "EPCG Solar gradnja" until June 16, as well as a member of two working bodies formed by EPCG - for the Steel Plant and the relocation of Ćehotina, from which he received compensation of 800 and 1.146 euros respectively. He stated that for both of these additional jobs, the "termination date" column was not filled in.
Škopelja believes that Vasiljević, through his work activities and receiving compensation from the EPCG group, violated Articles 26, 27 and 28 of the Energy Law, as well as that in January 2025 he submitted an incorrect statement that he had no personal interest in the energy entity to which the Agency issues a license.
He also pointed out that Article 28 of the code of conduct was additionally violated due to the insults and threats directed at him.
The documentation submitted to the parliamentary groups also includes a police report for insults and threats allegedly made by Vasiljević to Škopelja in a telephone conversation.
In it, Škopelja claims that on January 23rd he learned that Vasiljević was planning to travel to Dubai on an official basis without the approval of the Agency's Board, because according to regulations, all official trips must be approved by the board. Therefore, according to the news, he contacted the board's secretary by phone at around 15 pm to suspend all official trips, and then sent her an official email about it. However, at 13:13 pm, Vasiljević called him and, among other things, told him "you bastard, I'm going to slap you", which, according to him, created a feeling of fear and violation of his integrity in Škopelja, which is why he requested police protection.
Travel, Statute and (non)voting for the extension of the Thermal Power Plant license
The documentation also includes Škopelja's letter to Vasiljević dated February 2, calling on him to resign, as well as Vasiljević's response dated February 3 from Dubai, in which he called Škopelja rude, impudent, idle, uncooperative and antisocial, and called for him to seek professional help.
Both letters are officially registered in the Agency's archives.
Škopelja states in the letter that the event in Dubai is not related to energy, and that Vasiljević was not a participant and that he does not know enough English to follow the presentations.
In his response, Vasiljević states, among other things, that Montenegro, or REGAGEN, is this year the chair of the Mediterranean Energy Regulators Association MEDREG and that he was invited to the Summit in Dubai as the chair. He states in his letter that he did not mention the physical confrontation in the telephone conversation, and that by trying to prevent him from going to Dubai, he wanted to undermine his integrity. Vasiljević also states in his letter to Škopelja that the cause of the problem is that he was not invited to Dubai.
The letters also show that the voting on the committees was often tied (one - one, because there was no third member), which is why Vasiljević proposed amending the Statute so that in the event of a tie vote, what the president voted for would be considered adopted. However, Škopelja was against that too, so it was not adopted.
A similar problem arose at the December board meeting, when a vote was to be taken on the extension of the license for Elektroprivreda's power plants, which expired on January 1st and were to be extended until the end of 2035.
Škopelja states that Vasiljević drafted the first draft decision without consulting the expert service and that he requested a vote to extend the license for all seven power plants, including the Pljevlja thermal power plant, which was undergoing environmental reconstruction. He pointed out that at his insistence and that of the expert service, a version without the Pljevlja thermal power plant was voted on.
Vasiljević states in his letter that the ecological reconstruction of the TPP has nothing to do with the energy sector to which the license applied, and that this decision caused damage to EPCG and citizens of five million euros.
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