Serbia will spend 1 billion euros by the end of 2022 on electricity and coal imports, which will continue until 2024, said Serbia's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mines and Energy Zorana Mikhailovic.

Zorana Mihajlović explained that this is the estimated amount of electricity and coal purchased by the end of 2022, including about 530 million euros in imports until the end of April since the failure of Serbia's largest thermal power plant. In previous years, the price of imported electricity was 30 to 50 euros per MWh, but now the price is three to four times higher.

Notably, the two largest coal-fired power plants operated by EPS, TENTA and TENTB, saw their production drop sharply due to poor coal quality and insufficient quantity, prompting the need for emergency imports to cover the domestic consumption gap. At one point, it hit 45%.

EPS is still importing electricity

Imports have not stopped since then. EPS typically does not purchase electricity abroad during the year. Zorana Mihajlović said Serbia imports electricity every day to meet 10 to 17 percent of its consumption. Serbia may have to spend 1 billion euros on electricity and coal imports by the end of 2022 because someone in the EPS didn't do their job well, Mihajlovic said. She added that the company will be able to supply enough power for domestic demand in early 2024 and return to the state by Dec. 12, 2021.

150 million euros must be invested in mines

She explained that EPS must invest at least 150 million euros in order for the Kolubara mining basin to produce sufficient quantities of coal. Mihajlović stressed that due to the poor planning of EPS, there are no prerequisites to produce enough coal and it cannot be done anytime soon. Keywords: engineering construction, engineering news

Notably, the Serbian government has allowed EPS to import 4 million tons of coal by the end of 2023, and signed the first contracts with the Pljevlja and Banovići mines in Montenegro in Bosnia and Herzegovina.Editor/XingWentao