Serbia: Energy minister Zorana Mihajlovic critics toward EPS and Srbijagas, improvement from top management expected

Published on 30. September 2013., News Serbia Energy

The responsible people within EPS should put on the side their personal interests and go on work, says Minister of Energy Zorana Mihajlovic. Omissions around the new electricity bill do not refer only to one man, but it is a question of the functioning of the whole system of the Serbia Power utility, she says.

Commenting on the fact that the consumers money paid in excess for the electricity went, instead to reduce the debt for August, on the wrong account of Radio-Television Serbia, Mihajlovic says that it is the responsibility of another company or EPS Supply and that they all together should see how to solve this problem.

“The citizens of Serbia cannot suffer because of a problem in EPS or in any other company”, she says, speaking in “Kaziprst” on B92.

She said that after viewing the analysis conducted by the EPS, she would express her opinion on the matter, but added that she did not support the replacement of only one man.

Mihajlovic reminded that she had already informed EPS several times that new bills omissions did not refer only to one man, but it was a question of the whole system functioning.

She said to the EPS directors to cope with the problems and go to work and leave aside all personal mutual animosities, their interests and love, because the state, as she said, did not pay them for it, but to work.

The Minister recalled that in January would be opened the electricity market and this could mean that EPS would operate with loses, which certainly, as he says, is not the goal of the Government.

When it comes to investments in energy, she recalled that the Ministry of Energy last year ended whole legislative framework for investors attracting and that pursue the discussions with strategic partners around three energy facilities that should be built in Serbia.

Mihajlovic reiterated that she would seriously continue with EPS and Srbijagas reforming and that would insist to determine the exact date by which the companies would be reformed, adding that the government wanted the companies to be profitable.

She said that she would again submit to the Government a reforming plan of Srbijagas and that company needed to be reformed or they would disappear, adding that Srbijagas would disappear if it continued that way, because the company’s capital was even 35 times less than last year.

Srbijagas duties are about 1.2 billion EUR, of which 800 MEUR has nothing to do with the gas price, but with poor management of such company, and the salaries cost grow for months, said Mihajlovic.

Speaking of the “South Stream”, the Minister pointed out that Serbia adopted a law on “South Stream”, changed the necessary regulations related to the project and provided guarantees in the budget of 75MEUR for the land expropriation along the pipeline route. She expected from the competent directors for “South Stream” to receive all documents in which would be specified exactly for what would be spent those 75 MEUR, saying that the money was approved but was not spent yet.

Source; Serbia Energy/B92