Montenegro has completed the diversion of the Ćehotina River at the Pljevlja coal mine, removing a major constraint on future lignite extraction and securing access to fuel needed by the country’s largest thermal power plant.
Rudnik uglja Pljevlja said the project has received its water permit, clearing the way for continued development of the Potrlica open-pit mine and access to coal reserves needed by EPCG’s Pljevlja thermal power plant.
The works included around 3.2 kilometres of new riverbed, excavation of more than 500,000 cubic metres of material, installation of over 15,000 cubic metres of concrete and blasting of approximately 120,000 cubic metres of limestone.
Rudnik uglja carried out earthworks worth around €4 million using its own resources.
The externally contracted portion of the project had previously been valued at about €16.2 million excluding VAT.
Completion is commercially important because the river’s previous route constrained expansion of the Potrlica mine and threatened access to coal reserves required for continued operation of the thermal plant.
The coal mine and power plant remain central to Montenegro’s electricity balance despite the country’s push toward wind, solar and storage.
Pljevlja supplied around 65% of EPCG’s electricity production during a recent three-month period, with the utility valuing output at more than €51 million.
That dependence makes security of coal supply a system issue rather than simply a mining question.
Montenegro’s large hydropower fleet can produce substantial electricity in wet years, but output varies sharply with rainfall.
During dry periods or hydropower maintenance, Pljevlja reduces the amount of electricity EPCG must buy from regional markets.
Those imports can become expensive when wholesale prices rise or cross-border capacity is constrained.
The Ćehotina project therefore reduces one immediate operating risk at a time when Montenegro is still years away from replacing coal with sufficient firm low-carbon capacity.
The longer-term challenge remains more complicated.
Montenegro is moving closer to European energy and carbon-market rules, which will progressively increase pressure on coal-fired generation.
Pljevlja must therefore remain reliable enough to support security of supply during the transition while EPCG develops replacement generation and flexibility.
The utility is expanding wind and solar capacity, including the Gvozd wind complex, and is preparing battery-storage investments.
Private developers are also advancing a larger renewable pipeline.
But replacing coal requires more than matching Pljevlja’s installed capacity.
Wind and solar production varies with weather, while the thermal plant provides controllable output that can be scheduled according to system demand.
Montenegro will consequently need storage, stronger transmission networks and additional balancing resources alongside new renewable generation.
That makes the timing of any coal phase-down critical.
Reducing Pljevlja output before replacement capacity is available could increase electricity imports and expose consumers and EPCG to regional price volatility.
Keeping the plant running longer, however, will raise environmental and eventually carbon costs.
The mine faces similar tension.
Investment in infrastructure that extends access to coal reserves improves short-term energy security but is being made while Montenegro prepares for a gradual economic transition away from coal.
Pljevlja municipality is particularly exposed.
The mine and thermal plant remain major employers and sources of local economic activity, meaning an eventual coal exit will have implications for jobs, municipal revenue and supporting businesses.
Montenegro and international financial institutions are already preparing transition programmes for the area, including cleaner district heating, energy efficiency and renewable investment.
The river diversion buys time for that transition.
It allows the existing energy complex to continue supplying the system while replacement infrastructure is built.
For EPCG, the immediate benefit is reduced fuel-supply uncertainty.
For Montenegro, the project illustrates the central contradiction of the energy transition: the country needs Pljevlja to remain operational in the near term precisely while it invests to become less dependent on it.
Completion of the Ćehotina diversion removes one physical obstacle.
The larger question is how quickly Montenegro can build enough renewable generation, storage and grid capacity for coal supply itself to stop being a system-security issue.
