Italian minority stakeholder in national electric power industry EPCG (Elektroprivreda Crne Gore AD Nikšić) agreed with the state government to prolong the contract for another two months, after three similar interim deals from early April. The partnership dates back to 2009, and A2A said negotiations about the future ownership structure are continuing, according to a report by MINA-Business on portal Cdm.me.
The Government of Montenegro, company’s majority owner, does not share the vision about priority investments with is partner, the article said. The Italian side believes it is not the time for the expansion of Pljevlja thermal power plant, worth at least EUR 338 million. A2A failed to find a third partner for the project, according to the news agency’s information. There is also no deal in sight about the investor’s potential exit, as sources say the share is now worth much less than the EUR 430 million it paid for it six years ago.
EPCG told MINA-Business the total households’ debt in electricity bill reached EUR 139 million, but it stopped growing. The company said it plans to start another campaign of offers for prolonging the payment to customers. EPCG said it was the regulatory body RAE that allowed it to include an extra 9% in the electricity bill sum to cover transmission losses.
Croatian state-owned power utility HEP and its Serbian peer EPS are eyeing acquisitions abroad and EPCG is seen as a possible target, media in the region said in April.
