The Montenegrin hydropower plants Perućica and Piva operate at maximum power and produce significantly more electricity than the daily needs, so the surplus is exported. Full accumulations indicate that there will be no need to import electricity during the coming months.
The heavy rains, which in the first half of May exceeded the average rainfall in this month by 50%, significantly filled the accumulations of Montenegrin power plants, which operate at maximum power and deliver sufficient amounts of electricity to the market, which is extremely important considering that the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant is out of operation due to overhaul works. The Perućica and Piva units are working at full power, Bojan Đordan, director of the Production Functional Unit, told Radio Montenegro.
Lake Krupačko has been overflowing since Sunday, so we have a full volume of 42 million cubic meters, while Slano is at 95 percent capacity, i.e. 105 million cubic meters. As for HPP Piva, the inflows are over 300 cubic meters per second, and the Piva Lake is almost full, about half a meter compared to the highest elevation – points out Đordan.
The daily production of hydropower plants almost doubles the daily consumption, so the excess electricity is exported at a price of 100 to 120 euros per megawatt hour. Full reservoirs guarantee good production in the coming months as well, so it is quite certain that the dry period that characterized last year will not repeat itself, and there will probably be no need to import electricity either.
We have June and July coming up, in August is the regular annual overhaul of HPP Perućica, so we expect that the reservoirs will be at a satisfactory level considering their current condition. There will be no need to use them at their maximum capacity, but they will adapt to the situation that could eventually lead to a lack of precipitation in September and October, so that even if there is any import, it will be minimal. Certain amounts of electricity have already been secured in advance, and certainly the market will dictate how we will treat the available accumulations – says Đordan.
Favorable hydrological conditions once again confirmed the necessity of installing 8 aggregates of HPP Perućica, which is among the priority tasks of the national energy company.
Đordan emphasizes that the technical specification of the tender documentation is being prepared and that by the end of the year a public invitation will be issued for the selection of designers and contractors worth around EUR 24 million, which will be financed with the support of the German KFW bank.
