EPS independent of electricity imports

1/27/2023
Miroslav Tomašević, PE EPS Acting Director, guest on RTS Morning Show


Bucket Wheel Excavator No.2 has been put into operation on Thursday evening and coal production at Field E in Kolubara Mine Basin shall be normalized during the day – says Miroslav Tomašević, Electric Power Industry of Serbia Acting Director, in RTS Morning Show.
He adds that the coal reserves at the landfills of the key units in TENT A and TENT B thermal power plants amount to almost one million tons and the projected value is 950,000 tons. Tomašević states that the total coal reserves at the landfills, together with Kostolac TPP, amount to about 1.47 million tons, and that coal production is conducted according to plans. Currently, 30,000 tons of coal are produced daily from Drmno mine and together with Kolubara mines the total coal production ranges from 90,000 to 95,000 tons.
- If we were to compare this winter with the previous one, EPS imports marginally small amounts of electricity. This means that we have prepared well for this season - says Tomašević. - Yesterday, electricity consumption in Serbia amounted to 127 GWh. It was planned to secure energy imports in January in order to ensure favourable market prices. Yesterday we imported 3.7 GWh and exported 8.8 GWh, which means that the net export was 5.1 GWh. EPS generation is currently around 122 to 125 GWh, which is sufficient to cover consumption in Serbia allowing EPS to be independent of electricity imports.
Mr. Tomašević says that the generation at the new 350 MW unit Kostolac B3 TPP, should start in the fourth quarter of this year. The head of EPS points out that regulations on greenhouse gas emissions and all other regulations on environmental protection were followed.
EPS generates 30 percent of its energy from hydro capacity, and the first wind farm with a capacity of 66 MW owned by EPS will be put into operation in 2024. It is important to encourage private investors who are going to build wind farms and enable EPS to purchase electricity according to the pre-emption right - explained Tomašević.
He adds that no reform is easy and assesses that EPS is unjustifiably attacked by certain groups who criticize EPS. Tomašević reminds that EPS had hired consultants previously, and that the Government of Serbia has now hired the Norwegian Rystad Energy.
- The result of their work is soon to be seen, and every well-intentioned suggestion is welcome. EPS is ready to follow every decision made by the Government of Serbia - says Tomašević.
The director of EPS says that he is constantly visiting sites, because it is very important to support workers who maintain production. He believes that this is the best way to look at all the problems and adopt decisions on further steps.
- EPS has experts, they just need to be placed in the right positions to show what EPS can do. And a lot can be done, as demonstrated in the previous days. I have been in the position of acting director for less than a year and I believe that we have achieved a good result considering such a short period - says Tomašević.

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