The drop in electricity prices on the European market was beneficial to the Montenegrin electricity system, which, due to decreased production in hydropower plants, had to import electricity, said representatives of the Energy and Mining Committee of the Montenegrin Chamber of Commerce.
The Committee said that the coronavirus pandemic did not affect the production and trade of electricity, but due to the reduction of industrial consumption, the price of electricity in Europe dropped, which in turn affected the Montenegrin electricity system.
In the first six months of this year, precipitation was just 46 % of the long-term average. As a result, HPP Perucica produced only 30 % of the planned production for the period. HPP Perucica currently has 265 GWh of energy reserves and its accumulation is at 98 % of the maximum because power utility EPCG operated in the mode of “keeping” the water in accumulations for the summer season.
The consumption of residential and commercial customers supplied by EPCG is lower than planned in the first half of the year, which is a consequence of a poor tourist season, due to the pandemic. EPCG imported 678 GWh of electricity in the first six months of the year and exported 461 GWh, but due to the differences in the purchase and sale price, a positive financial effect was achieved.
