Serbia: EPS power utility company gives consent for B3 unit in TPP Kostolac

Published on 11. November 2013., News Serbia Energy

Serbian Electric Power Industry Board of Directors made ​​a decision on the conclusion of the contract for second phase of the project Kostolac B. Construction of the new block B3 in Kostolac and expansion of coal mine “Drmno” are anticipated by the contract, where it will be invested 715.6 MEUR.

New thermal block in Kostolac of 350 megawatts should be active until the end of 2019, and the plan is also that the capacity of mine “Drmno” expands from 9 to 12 millions tons of coal per year, according to the EPS.

The contract covers the implementation of the Agreement on economic and technical cooperation in the field of infrastructure between the Government of China and the Government of Serbia.

Members of EPS Board agreed that the Acting Director of EPS Aleksandar Obradovic and director of TPP Kostolac Dragan Jovanovic sign a contractual agreement for the second phase of the project Kostolac B.

As Deputy Minister of Energy, Development and the Environment Dejan Trifunovic explained, the decision of EPS Board will soon be approved by the Government of Serbia, followed by the signing of the contract.

“This is a very important strategic project and is one of the priorities in the Energy Strategy of Serbia,” said Acting Director of EPS.

The construction of the third block in Kostolac B is part of the strategic development of EPS, which is very important, and at the time when electricity market opening comes, new production capacity will contribute to the stability and security of the energy system of Serbia, said Obradovic.

The last block in EPS was put into operation 23 years ago, therefore today’s decision to build new 350 MW in Kostolac is historical, Jovanovic said.

He stressed that the project envisaged to respect all of the energy standards of the European Union and Serbia, especially in the field of environmental protection.

Source; Serbia Energy/EPS