The President of Serbia Visits TENT B

11/12/2021
Heroic Work in EPS for Stable Power Supply

The works on the revitalization of unit B1 in the Thermal Power Plant "Nikola Tesla B" will be completed on November 25, thus completing the great work that will provide Serbia with a stable electricity supply -  said Mr. Aleksandar Vučić, the President of Serbia who visited the works in TENT B with Mr. Milorad Grčić, acting director of "Electric Power Industry of Serbia". The revitalization worth approximately 90 million euros is to increase the capacity of the unit by about 20 megawatts and enable reliable and more efficient electricity generation in the upcoming decades.

Mr. Vučić complimented the workers for the incredible job they had performed on the revitalization of one of the two largest EPS units located in TENT B.

- These are the real heroes who had been doing literally the hardest jobs day and night. They had as many as 58,000 weldings. It's amazing how much work has been done. This is Serbia’s breadwinner - Mr. Vučić emphasized.

He added that Serbia had been lacking exactly those 650 megawatts of unit B1 since May, when the revitalization works had began, so that electricity needed to be imported, and gas imports increased for combined heat and power plants in Novi Sad and Pančevo.

- It had its price, but when we get those 650 megawatts, we will no longer have to pay 200 euros per megawatt-hour for electricity, as Northern Macedonia, Albania, Montenegro and Croatia have to do - said Mr.  Vučić. - In this situation, Serbia found better solution than the surrounding countries, but we would not have succeeded had it not been for the fantastic workers. Afterwards, Serbia will fill the accumulations of hydro power plants, that is, store electricity and save it for the most difficult winter days.

The President of Serbia pointed out that without coal production, Serbia could not have enough electricity and that, if TENT, "Kostolac" and "Kolubara" were excluded, and that would be compensated by imports at a price higher than 200 euros per MWh, "the state would go bankrupt in a year. " He explained that Serbia would reduce the share of energy obtained from coal and build renewable sources capacities, but also that citizens must be told that now there are no other stable sources of electricity except for coal, and that they should keep that in mind when supporting some politicians who speak to the contrary.

- Having electricity is not anyone's whim, nor a desire, but a bare necessity. Serbia will build renewable energy sources, but if it turned off the coal capacities, 10 largest cities and 50 smaller ones would be left without electricity, as well as all the hospitals - warned Mr. Vučić, and added that Serbia got 68 percent of its electricity from coal.

As he pointed out, Serbia needs what is safe and what certainly makes electricity, in the sun, rain and snow and various meteorological conditions, so the base capacities will have to be built as well.

- We will see in the years ahead of us what will be decided upon - whether to participate in nuclear power plants in the surrounding countries or to be able to make modular ones ourselves - said Mr. Vučić.

According to his words, they had discussed the possibility of Serbia owning 15% of the Hungarian nuclear power plant, which would be completed in 2035, as well as the Bulgarian Belene nuclear power plant, while offers for independent construction of modular nuclear power plants could possibly be considered. As Mr. Vučić emphasized, the decision would certainly not be made abruptly, but only after serious analysis of costs, profits and security. Mr. Vučić announced that on December 1, important talks on the price of electricity for the economy would be held, which, as he said, would have to be lower than on the stock exchange, but still slightly higher than before, so that EPS would not suffer losses, but also to keep entrepreneurs satisfied, since favorable price of electricity encourages investments in Serbia. TENT B employees presented the President of Serbia with a map of the Balkans from 1897. Ms. Zorana Mihajlović, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Mining and Energy, also visited the works in TENT B.

 

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