The Ugljevik thermal power plant remains out of operation after exhausting suitable coal supplies, leaving Republika Srpska without one of its largest sources of domestic electricity and exposing the growing operational risks within its vertically integrated coal-and-power system.
The plant was taken offline roughly two weeks ago, only a short period after completing an emergency overhaul lasting approximately 60 days. Its failure to return to sustained production demonstrates that technical maintenance alone cannot stabilise the facility while the associated mining operation is unable to provide sufficient coal of the required quality.
Management has not announced a firm restart date. Existing coal inventories would reportedly support only 10 to 15 days of generation, making an immediate restart commercially unattractive unless a more reliable fuel supply can be secured. Starting a large thermal unit entails significant costs, and a short operating cycle followed by another forced shutdown would further weaken the plant’s financial position.
The central issue is the delayed development of the Ugljevik East 2 surface mine, which is expected to become the plant’s principal long-term source of coal. Acting director Žarko Novaković has identified the start of extraction at East 2 as the company’s immediate priority, but the mine has not yet achieved the stable output required to support continuous electricity generation.
The Republika Srpska government previously awarded a €120 million concession connected with coal production at East 2 to Russian businessman Rashid Serdarov. The arrangement was presented as a strategic solution to Ugljevik’s fuel-security problems. The expected coal volumes have not materialised, leaving the plant dependent on depleted or increasingly difficult mining areas.
The geological and operational challenge is substantial. Union representatives have estimated that approximately 20 million cubic metres of overburden must be removed before the main coal seam can be reached. Existing equipment and staffing levels are considered insufficient for that scale of work. Mining activity has reportedly concentrated on removing soil and rock rather than producing enough usable coal for the generating unit.
The prolonged outage creates several layers of financial exposure. Republika Srpska’s power utility ERS must replace lost Ugljevik generation through other domestic assets or electricity imports, potentially at much higher market prices during summer demand peaks. The outage also removes export volumes that would otherwise support the utility’s cash flow.
The decision on when to restart will therefore depend on both technical readiness and wholesale prices. Management intends to coordinate the timing with ERS, seeking a period in which the value of generated electricity can justify the cost and risk of operating with limited coal stocks.
Ugljevik’s difficulties are no longer a temporary maintenance issue. They reflect the declining reliability of a production model in which the power plant, mine, environmental obligations and electricity-market exposure must all function together. Without accelerated overburden removal, new equipment and a credible mine-development schedule, the plant is likely to remain vulnerable to repeated outages even after the current shutdown ends.
