I SUMMARY: In Montenegro, construction of small hydropower plants (SHP) has become a business for the privileged individuals who are mostly linked through family or friendly ties to the former Prime Minister Milo Đukanović or the ruling Democratic Party of Socialists (DPS), as well as for those known to the public for their controversial affairs.
In mid-2017, there were ten operating SHPs which are privately owned by the persons associated with the government leadership. However, this is only the beginning, since Montenegrin Government has granted the construction of about 50 SHPs, mainly in the north of the country.
Owners of SHPs have a number of privileges for the electricity they produce, the most important being the subsidy which consumers pay through electricity bills. For two and a half years, 4.7 million has been paid for this fee, and the Government had previously estimated that in 2020, consumers could pay around 27 million for it.
Although a number of incentive measures have been approved for the construction of SHPs, on the other hand, they do not lead to the employment of the local population, and the constructed ones have caused a number of problems for the lives of people in the north of the country, since roads and forests are being destroyed and the entire rivers disappear. Therefore, in 2017, local citizens began protesting, urging the Government to suspend further construction of the small hydropower plants.
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