Montenegro’s transmission system operator, CGES, is nearing completion of reconstruction works on the Budva–Lastva and Lastva–Tivat transmission lines, a targeted grid-modernisation package worth around €1 million and covering 17 kilometres of 110 kV infrastructure. The works include replacement of conductors, insulators, suspension equipment and connection hardware, with the central objective of increasing transfer capacity and improving supply reliability across the wider coastal belt.
The project is strategically important because the affected network section serves Budva, Tivat, Kotor and Herceg Novi, where electricity demand rises sharply during the summer tourism season. For Montenegro, this is not only a maintenance intervention but a reinforcement of one of the country’s most economically sensitive load zones, where hotels, marinas, airports, residential development and seasonal services depend on stable power flows.
The reconstruction also improves the value of the 400/110/35 kV Lastva substation and supports the operational role of Montenegro’s interconnection with Italy. CGES is using modern high-temperature low-sag conductors, allowing higher transfer capacity without the need for a completely new corridor. That matters in the coastal region, where land constraints, environmental permitting and safety-clearance requirements make classic grid expansion more difficult.
For investors, the message is clear: Montenegro’s coastal economy is becoming more electricity-intensive, while the grid must now support tourism growth, real estate development, electrification, renewable integration and cross-border power flows at the same time. Small-ticket grid investments such as this €1 million package can therefore carry a much wider system value, reducing outage risk, improving voltage security and strengthening the bankability of downstream coastal projects that depend on reliable network capacity.
The project also fits into a broader CGES investment cycle. Earlier in 2026, CGES and the EBRD announced a €15 million financing package to modernise a regional 220 kV corridor linking Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro and Albania, with transfer capacity expected to rise from around 300 MW to about 600 MW.
Taken together, these upgrades show that Montenegro’s transmission grid is moving from a passive infrastructure layer into a core economic asset. The coastal network is no longer only about keeping lights on during the summer peak; it is becoming a prerequisite for tourism expansion, real estate financing, renewable-energy integration and Montenegro’s role as a small but strategically positioned electricity transit market between the Adriatic, the Balkans and the EU power system.
