CEO of Montenegrin state-owned power utility EPCG Nikola Rovcanin said that the country is currently in extremely stable energy situation and will be export oriented in the next five months, so there is absolutely no need for any kind of energy restrictions or the increase in the price of electricity for the population.
Rovcanin said that EPCG will not exercise its right for the increase of electricity price for 2023 because it is in its interest that the price remains unchanged in order to maintain the current level of bills collection. He pointed out that any price increase would be reflected in a drop in the level of collection, adding that with a drop of just 1 % in collection, the company would lose 3 million euros.
EPCG recorded a net loss in the amount of 88.7 million euros in the first nine months of 2022, compared to a profit of some 400,000 euros in the same period last year. The company’s operational revenues increased by 38.7 % year-on-year and reached 340.7 million euros in the first nine months of this year, while its operational expenditures also rose by an annual 77.6 % to 490.1 million euros, mainly a result of increased electricity imports due to a drought, with additional 19 million euros in personnel expenses.
However, the company said that it plans to cover the losses made so far in 2022 by increased electricity exports in the next five months, during which it expects much higher revenues since its electricity generation is predominantly hydro-based.
