Montenegro: NGO Claim, State’s interest in the construction of the second block of TPP Pljevlja should be protected

Published on 1. October 2014., SEE Energy News

NGOs the Network for affirmation of NGO sector (MANS) and the Green Home submitted official initiative to the Protector of Property-Legal Interests of Montenegro to get involved in the announced procedure of construction of the second block of TPP Pljevlja.

NGOs the Network for affirmation of NGO sector (MANS) and the Green Home submitted official initiative to the Protector of Property-Legal Interests of Montenegro to get involved in the announced procedure of construction of the second block of TPP Pljevlja, in order to protect state’s interest in that project.

From those two NGOs it is considered that the Protector himself should recognize this obligation.

‘’But having in mind the previous inactivity of this institute in protecting state’s interests in the energy sector, we think that this way of making pressure is also required in order for this institution to start doing its job more responsibly. Three decades after missing to build a single energy facility in this country, the government of Montenegro decided to initiate big plans for the energy sector by realization of the project of so-called ‘’dirty energy’’, more specificly by building the new block of the existing TPP on coal in Pljevlja’’, it was informed from MANS and Green Home.

The citizens of Montenegro, it was added by these organizations, to this day don’t have the basic information about who will finance the project, whether it is financially sustainable, what are the economic benefits of the announced investment, how big is the impact on health or how large the costs of environmental devastation will be.

They assert also that data published so far, trigger off serious concern that the realization of this project will dominantly benefit energy companies, respectively the future investor, instead of the citizens.

‘’Also, it is already clear that Montenegro doesn’t need to build a new thermal power plant, considering that the country has no more electricity deficit, and that the basic motive of its construction is the export of electricity from Pljevlja to Italy via undersea cable, whose construction is intended soon. Bearing in mind the obvious ownership conflict of interest within two companies that are main contractors, Electric Power Industry of Montenegro and The Coal mine, where the Italian company A2A has a significant ownership, and the fact the government escaped the public tender for selecting the future investor, there is a reasonable suspicion that the impartiality in the whole act will not be provided’’, it was pointed out in the statement.

From MANS and Green Home they notice that the real cost benefit analysis doesn’t exist, which is the only way to demonstrate what are the real economic benefits of the future investment for the citizens, ‘’the investment that can already be estimated it will cost minimum half a billion EUR’’.

‘’Finally, regarding the questions related to human health and environment protection, they are hiding from the public about negative repercussions that the construction of the new block of the thermal power plant will have on them, and the question is also whether the investment would meet European criteria concerning the emission of harmful substances and greenhouse gases’’, it is in the statement.

Recently MANS and Green Home asked from domestic competent courts to be granted a capacity of interested party in the project of construction of the second block of TPP Pljevlja.