Vranes: Boiler plant in Skerlićeva starts operating on October 1st

The heating season from the city boiler house in Skerlićeva Street in Pljevlja will begin on October 1, confirmed to "Vijesti" the Mayor of the Municipality of Pljevlja, Dario Vraneš, after today's meeting at the Ministry of Ecology in Podgorica.

In addition to Vraneš, the meeting was attended by the Secretary of the Secretariat for Communal and Housing Affairs, Roads and Water, Vule Macanović, the Director of the "Grijanje" company, Vlade Tošić, as well as the Environmental Inspector Velibor Kljajević.

"Citizens will not be left without heating. Heating will begin, as every year, on October 1. We have had understanding from people in the Ministry, as well as from the environmental inspector, Mr. Velibor Kljajević. The only real solution to pollution in Pljevlja is district heating, which is progressing well. We must all be patient so that the issue of pollution in Pljevlja can finally be resolved," said Vraneš.

When asked whether they had received a written decision from the ministry on the start of work, given that the boiler house is banned from operating according to the decision of the environmental inspector and the Environmental Protection Agency, the city's first man told "Vijesti" that they had not received anything "in writing, but that everything was a form of agreement."

The municipal company "Grijanje" recently filed an appeal against the decision of the Environmental Protection Agency, which on July 21 ordered the closure of the city boiler house on Skerlićeva Street.

Apart from the Ministry's decision, the operation of the boiler house also depends on the attitude of the tenants of the building on Skerlićeva Street where it is located. Sixteen tenants have already announced that they will block its operation if the state allows it to restart.

Tošić points out that by closing the boiler house, "Grijanje" would lose its purpose, because it cannot offer users an alternative form of heating.

He claims that in the last two years they have been consuming 1.500 tons of coal per year, while previously they were consuming up to 2.400. Thanks to investments in the boiler room and secondary network, they have reduced consumption by 900 tons. The municipality and the state have invested hundreds of thousands of euros in adapting the system, from replacing external installations to installing new flue gas fans that improve combustion and reduce pollution.

"Last year and this year, we replaced about 70 percent of the external heating installation. The heating department is facing an important step in retraining workers to meet future heating and hot water network maintenance tasks. A tender has been announced for the second phase of heating. We were surprised by the Agency's unprovoked decision. They ordered the land around the boiler house to be examined, so that we, as a subject, would have to remediate the land and inform them about it. We filed an appeal in a timely manner and the lawyers stated that the decision was unfounded. We expect the Ministry of Ecology to accept our appeal," Tošić recently told "Vijesti".

He adds that the city boiler house is not the only, nor the biggest polluter in Pljevlja. The director of "Grijanje" warns that closing the boiler house would create major problems for residents, because many buildings in Pljevlja do not have the option of heating with solid fuel nor are they technically adapted for heating with electricity.

On December 26th of last year, the Environmental Inspection banned "Grijanje" from carrying out the activity of producing and delivering heat energy because the analyses conducted by CETI showed that the concentrations of powdery substances, carbon monoxide and arsenic were above tolerance limits.

"Grijanje" then addressed the Ministry of Ecology, Sustainable Development and Northern Development with a proposal to postpone the execution of the environmental inspector's decision, and after their urgency, the environmental inspector extended the deadline for executing the decision until May 15, when the ban on the boiler room's operation came into effect again.

The tenants of the building on Skerlićeva Street are categorical that they do not want a boiler room in their building. At a meeting of the tenants' assembly in mid-July, they all signed a request for a permanent ban on its operation.

"They have been promising us for years that they will move it. If the state does not do its job, we will block the operation of the boiler room," said tenant Marko Dajević.

Dajević says that pollution from the boiler room has been poisoning residents for years, and no one is doing anything to protect them.

He claims that the facility in their building is not a boiler room but a heating plant, considering that its power is six megawatts and that boiler rooms are up to one megawatt.

"For years, renovations have been carried out without any necessary permits. Many residents have suffered from severe lung and cardiovascular diseases, as well as many cases of cancer. Our children sleep above boilers of enormous power and all the fumes enter our apartments. All residents have signed a petition to relocate the heating plant. This problem is not new. Every year they promise us and ask us for patience. This time we will not give up," said Dajević.