In 2018, the energy sector in Montenegro was marked by an unclear and non-transparent investment policy of the Government regarding the construction of new energy facilities in the country, and by a controversial purchase of the Coal Mine Pljevlja by the state-owned Electric Power Company of Montenegro (EPCG).
The Government has been advocating the construction of the Second Block of Thermal Power Plant in Pljevlja for years, despite the sharp criticism by the civil sector and a part of the expert public that it is not economically feasible and has far-reaching negative effects on human health and the environment. Nevertheless, it seems that in 2018 there has been a “halt” in this plan, so the Government and EPCG intensified their activities in connection with the reconstruction of the existing First Block of the Thermal Power Plant, for which, in the meantime, it was announced that the increasing of its installed capacity from 225 MW to 300 MW is planned.
During 2018, in the process that was marked by a series of controversies, EPCG bought the Pljevlja-based Coal Mine company, whose price was overestimated by at least one third of the value of the mining company, i.e. around €12 million.
In terms of other investments, EPCG made the first concrete move, which indicated the intention of construction of the first major hydro-energy project in the country, nearly a decade after advocating the construction of power plants on the Morača River. Thus, together with the Government, the legal procedure was initiated for the construction of a large hydro power plant Komarnica on the Komarnica River, in the northwest of the country.
In addition, the government has awarded EPCG and its foreign partners the construction of a solar power plant, which would have a power of 250 MW, and if built, it would become one of the largest facilities of its kind in Europe. The deal was awarded through a lease contract to 30 years, but from the very beginning it has been under a veil of secret because the government and EPCG refused to publish all of its details.
Also, in 2018, the state of Montenegro recovered a majority share in EPCG by paying off part of the share, which was owned by the Italian company A2A. The state of Montenegro paid around €69 million for a part of the A2A share, thus regaining its share to 70 % of the ownership, while EPCG paid little less than €52 million euros, by which it received around 10 % of its own ownership.
For 2019, the purchase of the remaining share of 18.6 % of the Italian company is announced, which will mark its
complete exit from the ownership of EPCG, in which it was a minority partner since the end of 2009.
This Report is the fourth one published by NGO MANS in the framework of a project funded by the European Climate Foundation, which for the first time encompasses large energy projects of the state-owned EPCG. Three previous annual reports focused on the project for the construction of the new Thermal Power Plant in Pljevlja and included the activities of the Government during 2015, 2016 and 2017.
Complete report download HERE (PDF)
