Montenegro has been recording a constant deficit in electricity generation, because of which it is forced to import. Around 34 percent of electricity is generated in thermal power plants and the rest mostly in hydro power plants. The import varies significantly from year to year, so it amounted to as much as 54.7 percent in 2007, only to be reduced to zero in 2010.
The largest electricity consumer is the aluminum production plant KAP in Podgorica, and then the iron works and the railway. The reduced aluminum production is the reason for a significant reduction in electricity import. The objective of the Montenegrin Government is that the country should become an electricity exporter in the near future, which would be the result of a continuous reduction in the consumption of the KAP and of the plans for building new production capacities.
95.5 million euros worth of electricity was exported last year, whereas in 2012, the export amounted to 38 million euros. This is not a real export of electricity generated in Montenegro, considering that a significant electricity trading is carried out through its territory. Simultaneously, 54 million worth of electricity was imported. The increase in export was achieved owing to a good hydrological year and a reduced production in the KAP.