HPP Piva (Photo: EPCG)
In the first quarter of 2024, power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore achieved a profit of EUR 11.4 million, ten times lower than one year before. The situation deteriorated in the following three months, resulting in one hundred times worse results in the first half of the year than in 2023.
Drought was the main factor behind weak results, EPCG said. Once again weather conditions demonstrated their effect on the financial results of Montenegro’s state-owned firm. It could be said for all state-owned power utilities in the Western Balkans as well.
EPCG attributed the drop in profit to EUR 11.4 million in the first quarter of 2024 mostly to low water levels and the decline in market prices of electricity. In the first three months of last year, the company achieved a profit of EUR 114 million.
In the first six months of 2024, the company suffered a loss of EUR 3.4 million
The unprecedented drought significantly reduced the operation of hydropower facilities, leading to the imports of 195 GWh of electricity more in the first quarter of 2024 than in the same period in the previous year, the update reveals. Total business result came in EUR 64 million lower, the company pointed out.
In addition, the company booked EUR 32 million in income in the first quarter of 2023 from adjusting the value of its assets to account for the purchase of Željezara Nikšić steel plant.
According to the company, all the said factors have led to a EUR 3.4 million loss in the first half of 2024. According to data from the Montenegro Stock Exchange, EPCG’s profit in the first six months of 2023 was EUR 101.5 million.
EPCG expects to finish the year without a loss
EPCG had unplanned imports of 345 GW in the first half of the year, resulting in total import costs of EUR 84.7 million.
Hydrology didn’t significantly change since the beginning of the third quarter either, but EPCG expressed hope the situation would substantially improve in the final quarter of 2024.
In that case, paired with a continuous efficient operation of the Pljevlja coal power plant, EPCG anticipates it would complete the year without a loss.
In comparison, the company reported a profit of EUR 52.2 million for 2023.
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