Redžić: The electricity situation in Montenegro is stable, no problems are expected in powering users

The electricity situation in Montenegro is stable and no problems are expected in supplying power to users, said the director of the National Dispatch Center of the Montenegrin Electricity Transmission System (CGES), Ranko Redžić, adding that losses in the system are at the level of the best in Europe.

"The electricity situation is stable and we do not expect any problems in supplying power to users in Montenegro regarding the transmission system. All elements of the system are in operation, and consumption is within expected limits for this time of year," Redžić said in an interview with the Mina-business agency.

He said that the safety of the system can be viewed from the aspect of safety of operation in the interconnection and security of power supply to users in Montenegro.

"This has been in focus in recent years, primarily due to the connection of a large number of renewable electricity sources and especially market development. The market conditions that energy always flows from low-price zones to higher-price zones, which leads to a significant increase in transit flows and their variations depending on the time of day," explained Redžić.

According to him, the so-called solar hours we are in are most critical when large amounts of energy are exported from Southeast Europe to the West or possibly vice versa in the event that the price in Western Europe is more favorable than in the East.

"Prices in certain markets are formed based on supply and demand for each hour individually, so variations in these prices during the day are also followed by physical energy flows," Redžić specified.

The commissioning of the new 400 kV Pljevlja - Lastva transmission line significantly improves the security of the network operation in the Montenegrin system, as well as in the region, and this has significantly reduced the possibility of disturbances of regional importance.

Speaking about the security of power supply for users in Montenegro, Redžić said that the summer season is traditionally critical, especially on the coast, when there is a significant increase in consumption and load on critical elements to their technical limit.

"We would like to remind you that last year there were no power outages on the coast due to disruptions in the transmission system. For this season, CGES has additionally prepared by implementing the project of installing high-temperature conductors on the Lastva - Budva and Lastva - Tivat power lines, which significantly improved the security of power supply to Budva and the part of the coast west of Budva," explained Redžić.

When asked how much electricity is lost in the transmission system of Montenegro and what measures CGES is taking to reduce it, Redžić replied that losses in the transmission system are exclusively technical in nature, and are the consequences of physical laws when electric current flows through conductors.

"In the previous period, some unclear information about the rate of losses in transmission and distribution has appeared in the public, so I would like to take this opportunity to emphasize that last year the physical volume of losses in the transmission system was 131 gigawatt hours (GWh) with a loss rate of 1,64 percent," Redžić said.

He recalled that in 2024, the physical volume of losses was slightly higher, 143 GWh, but the loss rate was 1,55 percent.

"The loss rate is the percentage of losses in relation to the total energy transmitted. If we compare this with European practice, we cite the example of Austria, where the loss rate for the previous two years was 1,63 percent and 1,52 percent, respectively," said Redžić.

He explained that the comparison with European transmission system operators does not give a completely realistic picture, because CGES also includes the 110 kV network, which produces the most losses, while the Austrian Transmission System Operator (APG), which is the practice throughout Western Europe, provides data only for the 400 kV and 220 kV networks.

"It may sound immodest, but it turns out that CGES has a better result on this issue than APG," added Redžić.

When compared to systems in the region, where, like ours, the 110 kV transmission network is included in the calculation, CGES has significantly lower losses.

"For example, we have data available for the Croatian Transmission System Operator (HOPS) for 2024, which then had a loss rate of 1,86 percent. For comparison with Montenegro, our loss rate was 1,55 percent at that time. For the Independent System Operator of Bosnia and Herzegovina (NOSBiH), the loss rate was 1,79 percent in 2024, and 1,88 percent last year," said Redžić.

He assessed that losses in the Montenegrin power transmission system are at the level of the best European systems and said that he would strive to keep it that way in the future.

Redžić, answering the question of which are the most significant investments in the electricity system of Montenegro that have been implemented so far, and which are planned in the coming period, said that there are several capital projects that have been completed this year.

"The most significant is the Lastva - Pljevlja transmission line, 150 kilometers long, which was put into trial operation at the end of June. There is now a 400 kV ring in Montenegro, which significantly improves the operational safety of the Montenegrin system, as well as other systems, and additionally increases the capacity for connecting renewable sources of electricity," Redžić said.

At the same time, the 110 kV Žabljak - Pljevlja transmission line was launched, which improved the security of power supply to users in the Žabljak and Pljevlja region, as well as enabled safer distribution of energy from renewable electricity sources connected in the region of the Brezna substation (TS).

"We have installed a 250 MVAr choke in the Lastva substation, which solves the major problem of excessive voltages in the Montenegrin system and in the surrounding area. In this way, CGES is significantly contributing to mitigating this problem. The choke was put into trial operation at the beginning of April, and is currently disconnected due to the elimination of identified deficiencies and additional testing. We expect it to be put back into operation by the end of September," said Redžić.

He stated that one of the investments was the installation of a new 150 MVA transformer at the Podgorica 1 substation. The older transformer was replaced, which improved the reliability of power supply to users, especially in the Podgorica region.

"There are several very important projects in the coming period. The most notable ones are the construction of the Brezna 400 kV substation, which will enable significantly greater connection of renewable sources in that region, as well as the reconstruction of the 220 kV transmission line on the Herzegovina - Montenegro - Albania route," announced Redžić.

He said that among the significant projects is the reconstruction of the distribution facility at the Perućica hydroelectric power plant, the completion of the construction of two 400 MVA transformers at the Pljevlja substation, as well as the completion of the construction of the 400 kV interconnection with Serbia.

"This will mark the completion of the construction of the so-called Trans-Balkan corridor on the territory of Montenegro, which will enable the connection of the second strand of the submarine cable to Italy," explained Redžić.

He announced the construction of a series of new substations and smaller transmission lines that will enable the connection of additional users to the distribution network as well as renewable sources of electricity, and added that the total value of planned investments in the next five years exceeds 200 million euros.

When asked what activities CGES is carrying out to connect the Montenegrin electricity market with the single European market and what effects of that process are expected, Redžić replied that CGES has provided significant support to the Ministry of Energy in the preparation of a set of laws in the field of energy fully aligned with European legislation.

"The laws have been adopted in the Parliament, and the European Commission (EC) report on the compliance check is currently awaited," Redžić added.

He believes that the further dynamics of market integration depend on the results of compliance checks, because further formal steps in that direction can only be implemented after receiving a positive report.

"In any case, the connection of the Montenegrin market with the Italian market, and that means with the single European market, can be expected in 2028, 2029 at the latest, depending on the dynamics of obtaining these reports," Redžić said.

He concluded that the adoption of a set of European laws, the so-called Electricity Integration Package in Montenegro, significantly contributes to improving the security of the system, because the operation of the system and cooperation between operators in the region are aligned with best European practices, which can only mean improving the operation of the system and the security of power supply to users.