Montenegrin state power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) has completed an overhaul of small hydropower plant Glava Zete, operated by its joint venture with Norwegian firm NTE. The state-owned utility has also replaced two transformers at its hydropower plant Perućica.

The modernization of Glava Zete was part of an EUR 8 million project that also included an overhaul of small hydropower plant Slap Zete, which has already been put in operation. Slap Zete is also owned by EPCG and NTE’s joint venture, according to a statement from EPCG.

The investment will boost electricity output by 30%

The project, which increased the hydropower plants’ efficiency, will result in a 30% increase in their electricity production, according to Dragan Vlahović, general manager of Zeta Energy, the joint venture which was founded in 2010 and is majority owned by EPCG. Annual electricity output is now expected to average 20.5 GWh, compared with 14.6 GWh prior to the overhaul.

The project also included the installation of state-of-the-art wastewater treatment technology, according to Vlahović. Both hydropower plants were built in the 1950s. Slap Zete has an installed capacity of 1.2 MW, while the capacity of Glava Zete is 4.5 MW.

The replacement of transformers at HPP Perućica will extend the lifespan by at least 30 years

The installation of two new transformers at HPP Perućica is part of a project to replace a total of five transformers, which has been agreed with a consortium led by Croatian company Končar.

The agreement, worth a total of EUR 2.25 million, envisages the delivery of two more transformers in 2021 and the last one in 2022, according to EPCG. However, Končar appears to be on track to deliver all three next year.

The replacement of these transformers will make Perućica a more reliable power plant, while the lifespan will be extended by at least 30 years, according to the plant’s general manager, Dragan Čizmović.

Early this year, Čizmović said a major overhaul of all seven generators at Perućica was underway and that generators 4, 5, and 7 were revitalized in 2018 and 2019. EPCG has recently launched an international tender for the preparation of project documentation for installing an eighth, 58.5 MW generator at Perućica.