Due to the lack of funds for modernization and revitalization of capacities, the overhauls are shortened, but electricity generation is higher than the planned 5.3%. – The yields from sales in the free market are also higher
When it was announced last winter that EPS lacks funds for the planned activities
in 2013, in total 50 billion RSD, many people were talking about the thing that “the most profitable state company will be financed from the Budget of the Republic” or that “it will take extra loans for which the state needs to guarantee again for the repayment”, which also made the public uneasy, as it seems more general public than the official public. All additional explanations, concerning EPS having internal reserves of mitigating the shortage of ready money and if there were some loan taking, they will be to a much less extent than it was anticipated at first, remained on the margin of general concern what will happen to EPS?
The answer was offered by the Management of the Republic of Serbia that prepared and proposed, immediately, in the first quarter of the current year, to make a revision of the accepted 2013 Business Plan, by which internal reserves could be reallocated, savings and yields increased, and costs cut. This work was really blazed away at.
Brand new plan
The greatest indebtedness was borne by Economic and Financial Services and Departments at the level of PE EPS, but also the companies of EPS. Even so, the essential battle for the effective cutting of the planned took place, it seems, in the Departments of EPS for the electricity generation and electricity trading. They together had to specify which of the overhauls could be dropped out of, and which could have a shortened deadline in order to save some funds, and at the same time preserve the equipment and the plants unharmed by the shortening of deadlines.
It was also necessary to plan how production capacities could be engaged additionally for the higher production than the one established by the Plan. We have already published something on how many investment plans was left for years to come. With such a goals and inevitabilities, the revision portfolios were prepared, and they will be forwarded to the Managing Board of PE EPS for adoption and the Government of the Republic for consent.
It is clear that chiefly the Department for electricity generation decided on the extent and length of overhauls, which this issue also deals with. What we have recently called balancing of power balance and now Electric Power Portfolio of PE EPS was primarily the responsibility of the Department for electricity trading. Together, these two departments have made, in fact, a new plan, effective from March through the end of this year. Mr. Miladin Basarić, Assistant Director with the Trading Department, said the changes to the portfolio of Electric Power Portfolio of BRP PE EPS include achievement for January, assessment of achievements in February and updated plan for the period March-December. (BRS Abbreviation stands for balance responsible party, which is in line with the new Energy Law and Rules on Electricity Market operation)
These changes were made, according to our source, due to the changes to the plan of overhauls, imposed by the lack of funds for modernization and rehabilitation of facilities. In brief, including the realization of the first two months, this year EPS will provide more than 37 billion kilowatt-hours by its own production, which is 5.3 percent more than the initially set goal in the 2013 Business Plan.
Thanks to the exceptionally good hydrology since the beginning of the year, along which the river-of-river hydropower plants in the first quarter exceeded the plan by 40 %, and figuring that by year-end the flows may be even smaller (a 70 % probability of occurrence of unregulated flow was taken into account) to the end of December, the run-of-river HPPs should provide the system a total of 10.3% more than what was envisaged by the plan. Slightly less production of reservoir HPPs was projected, except that the performance of HPP “Bajina Bašta” would be 32.5% higher than planned, as the possibility of large scale pumping is taken in to account, in order to better use the increased flows at run-of-river HPPs.
Higher production and coal fired TPP
Neither the production of the coal-fired thermal power plants will not give up, on the contrary, it will reach nearly 27 billion kWh or 3.7 % more than outlined in the Plan. Given the availability of coal, for this kind of production the goal is to move the focus of the engagement to the power units with higher energy efficiency, which is primarily made possible by reducing the length of the overhauls work on the TPP NT B2 and by delaying them for the next year.
The procurement from other producers (Electric Power Industry of Montenegro) will be about 105 million kWh higher than envisaged by the 2013 Plan, and from the privileged producers 22 million kWh more than envisaged by the 2013 Plan will be bought. In the free market, for the end users in the Republic of Serbia, revised plan is different from the plan for about 640 million kWh.The sales will be lower by that amount, because in the meantime it turned out that not all qualified former customers moved to the free market, but they stayed in the domain of public supply, and one buyer chose the other supplier.
Proceeds reduced by drop in consumption
Anyhow, according to Mr. Basarić, on the internal and regional free market, PE EPS will launch more than five billion kWh, out of which around a billion will be allocated to EMS for covering losses in the transmission system. The essence is , however, that in the Amended Plan it was noted that the sale to other suppliers on the free market would amount to 2.2 billion kWh, and that is an additional income to be realized thanks to the great hydrology and higher production of coal-fired TPP. Unfortunately, a part of proceeds will be reduced, due to reduced electricity consumption in Serbia that was in the first three months of this year lower by about 440 million kWh, or 4.2%.
The sales on the free market were initiated in early January and it has been constantly increasing as the flows increased in the Danube and in the Drina catchment area. So, according to the data of the Department of EPS for trade, PE EPS sold, in the first three months this year, for purposes of balancing electric power portfolio (the excess of electricity occurred because of lower electricity consumption in the Republic of Serbia and excess of HPP production), 798 million kWh to other suppliers on the free market.