Minister of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Srpska (RS) Petar Djokic announced that Slovenia has reduced its interest claim against the coalmine and thermal power plant (RiTE) Ugljevik from 67 million euros to 37 million euros. He stated that negotiations are now centered on the number of installments and the repayment schedule, with a formal decision expected soon.
RiTE Ugljevik had until the end of July to reach an agreement on paying 67 million euros owed to Elektrogospodarstvo Slovenije. If no agreement was reached, the Slovenian side had warned it would initiate arbitration in Washington and seek 695 million euros excluding interest. A previous arbitration ruling by a Belgrade court requires RiTE Ugljevik to pay approximately 185 million euros in total. This includes 67 million euros plus interest for undelivered electricity from 2011 to early 2022, along with the obligation to deliver one third of its output for as long as it operates. An additional 62 million euros is owed for undelivered electricity in 2022–2024.
According to ERS Director Luka Petrovic, the principal amounts have been divided as follows: the RS Government will pay 67 million euros from the budget over seven years, while the ERS parent company will cover 62 million euros related to undelivered electricity in 2022, 2023, and January 2024. Until now, the unresolved issues were the interest component, originally set at 67 million euros, and the threat of Washington arbitration.
The initial deadline to resolve these matters was May 31, later extended to the end of July. Slovenia’s recent decision to lower its interest demand to 37 million euros opens the door for a repayment plan and could help avoid international arbitration.
