The Executive Director of the Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG) Ivan Bulatović announced that the company will propose a five percent increase in electricity prices for next year, but he does not believe that the proposal will be accepted.
"Given the increased consumption and import of electricity due to the shutdown of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant, we will propose a certain price increase, but I honestly do not believe it will happen," Bulatović said in "Colors of Morning" on Television Vijesti.
The oversized transport of equipment for the "Gvozd" wind farm begins late tonight, and will last about three weeks. The blades are up to 150 meters long, and will be transported from the port of Bar to the Polješavnik location near Nikšić.
"Transport is extremely demanding, it will be organized late at night, with partial traffic diversions. This is a key step towards the completion of Gvozda 1, with a capacity of 56 megawatts," said Bulatović.
EPCG has provided an additional 25 million euros for the expansion of the wind farm with three new turbines ("Gvozd" 2), which should be installed by the end of next year. When "Gvozd" is fully operational, along with other new green sources, an additional 170 to 200 gigawatt hours of clean energy per year is expected.
Currently, Montenegro consumes about 700 gigawatt hours of electricity more than it produces, so the difference is covered by imports, which has led EPCG to a financial deficit this year.
When the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant is reconnected to the grid, which is expected on November 15, Montenegro should regain stability in supply, and next year, with "Gvozd" and solar power plants, even achieve a surplus of 225 to 250 gigawatt hours, which would be intended for export.
"If market prices remain around 100 euros per megawatt-hour, these exports could bring in around 25 million euros in revenue," Bulatović said.
Regarding the battery plant project, Bulatović points out that EPCG has not given up on the idea of energy storage, even though the tender did not receive government approval.
"I expect that after the completion of the ecological reconstruction of the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant, we will restart the dialogue with the Government and receive approval for the procurement of battery systems. This is a project that must be implemented, the only question is when," said Bulatović.
According to him, battery systems would allow EPCG to sell energy when it is most expensive and charge them when it is cheapest, which would bring a profit of eight to nine million euros per year per system.
"The whole world is heading in that direction. We are late, but I hope we will soon catch up with that trend. It is a revolution in energy," Bulatović concluded.
Bonus video:
