Podgorica, (MINA-BUSINESS) – Senior official of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) Mirko Stanic said that the Thermal Power Plant Pljevlja has not been put into operation despite announcements that this would happen on 15 November.

He added that the enormous amount of electricity that has been imported poses a great problem for Montenegro.

“It’s not a problem to be a day or two late; the problem lies in the irresponsibility of those in charge at Elektroprivreda (EPCG) and TPP Pljevlja, who only a month ago assured the public and the media that everything was going according to plan and that the plant would ‘certainly’ be online five days ago. That ‘certainly’ is equal to the promises of another Pljevlja native, Prime Minister Milojko Spajic, who has over 100 major unfulfilled promises in just a few years,” Stanic said.

He added that it is a huge problem for the state that, due to the overhaul of TPP Pljevlja, a massive amount of electricity had to be imported, and that EPCG, because of this and due to unfavourable hydrological conditions this year, is currently running a deficit of as much as €90 million.

“Therefore, for those who are playing with tens of millions of euros of taxpayers’ money – a few clear questions that the Montenegrin public expects clear answers to. Why was the Pljevlja Thermal Power Plant not put into operation on 15 November, and why has coal supply from the Coalmine still not begun? Does this mean that the plant will not be connected by 1 December?” asked Stanic, who is also a representative of the European Alliance.