The Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG), if there had been normal rainfall this year, would now have a profit of at least 133 million euros, by which amount, due to the bad hydrological situation, the import of electricity has increased, the analysis of the Ministry of Capital Investments showed.
Instead of that result, EPCG had a loss of 57 million euros for these nine months, the Mina agency reports, referring to Vijesti.
In the monthly bulletins of the Hydrometeorological Institute, it is stated that a severe hydrological drought in Montenegro has been going on since the autumn of last year, while the area of the western part of the country, namely Nikšić and Piva, where the only two large hydroelectric plants that produce 45 percent of electricity consumption needs.
That the rain is “avoiding” the areas of the watershed of hydroelectric power plants is shown by the fact that at the beginning of September of this year, 185 liters of rain per square meter fell in Cetinje, and only about twenty liters in the area of Nikšić and Piva.
When the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant underwent overhaul in April and May, which is planned during that period of expected rains and increased accumulations due to melting snow, the Hydrometeorological Institute assessed the amount of precipitation in the vicinity of Nikšić as a very severe drought.
“The greatest impact on the achieved result was unfavorable hydrology followed by unfavorable market movements of electricity prices, which contributed to the average realized prices of imported electricity being higher by 261 percent compared to last year. Achieved in the first eight months of this year is 281.15 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh), while for the same period last year it was 77.81 euros per MWh”, the report stated.
EPCG is now, due to dry accumulations, spending all available money on the purchase of imported electricity to supply its consumers and to avoid restrictions.
However, this affects the increase of its illiquidity, i.e. the lack of money, which is why EPCG started with delays in paying its obligations, primarily to the Coal Mine for the energy supplied to the Thermal Power Plant.
How threatened the liquidity of EPCG is is shown by the fact that on August 31 of this year, the company’s accounts had only 34 million euros in cash, which is less than the income for one monthly electricity bill of all consumers. That much is now needed per month just for the import of electricity, local media reports.
