Serbian state-owned power utility EPS and Montenegrin Pljevlja coalmine has agreed on the supply of 300,000 tons of coal for the Serbian company in 2022.
CEO of Pljevlja coalmine Milan Lekic said that the calorific value of the coal that will be supplied to EPS is between 7,500 and 8,000 kJ/kg, which is inside the range of lower quality coal. He said that details regarding the pricing will be revealed soon.
EPS has issues with the supply of coal for its Nikola Tesla TPP complex (TENT) since late 2021, when there was an explosion at one of the units due to wet, mixed with mud, low quality coal, while in early 2022, a fire caught one of the large excavator in the Kolubara mining basin, which supplies coal for TENT. Since then, EPS failed to simultaneously operate all units of TENT A and B and was forced to import expensive electricity to cover domestic demand.
In January, the management of the coalmine proposed to gradually shut down mining activities and switch to cement production as part of the country’s commitments to reduce CO2 emissions.
Montenegro joined the Powering Past Coal Alliance (PPCA) in 2021 and started preparing a national energy and climate plan envisaging the phase-out of coal production by 2035.
