The newly built B3 unit of the Kostolac B coal-fired thermal power plant, officially handed over to Serbia’s state-owned power utility EPS by Chinese partners on December 13, 2023, ceased operations at the end of February. EPS confirmed that the shutdown was planned to address technical issues within the unit’s warranty period.
Since December 3, 2023, unit B3 has been under a one-year warranty, during which the contractor, China Machinery Engineering Corporation (CMEC), is responsible for resolving any identified concerns. EPS stated that the unit had been generating electricity for the past four months and was deliberately shut down overnight for necessary adjustments. The process is expected to take approximately seven days.
The B3 unit, Serbia’s first newly built thermal unit in over 30 years, added 350 MW to EPS’s production capacity. Its construction, alongside the expansion of the Drmno coalmine, amounted to $715.6 million. During the handover ceremony, EPS General Director Dusan Zivkovic emphasized that the unit was built to the highest environmental standards and demonstrated improved environmental performance during test operations. Once fully operational, it is expected to generate between 2.2 and 2.5 TWh of electricity annually, enhancing Serbia’s energy security.
