Electricity

Six power utility EPS employees arrested over mini HPP Dubočica 2

Photo: Dubočica (Facebook/Odbranimo reke Stare planine)

Published

August 13, 2019

Country

Comments

comments icon

0

Share

Published:

August 13, 2019

Country:

Comments:

comments icon

0

Share

Police have arrested six employees at Serbia’s state power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) in Kraljevo on suspicion of office abuse related to the construction of a power facility for the Dubočica 2 mini hydropower plant (HPP), EPS said in a press release.

The suspects arrested on office abuse charges concerning the Dubočica 2 mini hydropower plant have been identified as Zoran Pantelić, Grujica Davidović, Dejan Radić, Milan Vučković, Dragan Mačužić, and Saša Dimić, all holding management posts in the Kraljevo unit of EPS.

They are suspected of having unlawfully used EPS’ employees and machinery in 2016 and 2017 to build a power facility for Dubočica 2

They are suspected of having unlawfully used EPS’ employees and machinery in 2016 and 2017 to build a power facility for Dubočica 2, owned by Milan Vučković, i.e. his firm Hidroenergo Dubočica. By doing so, they caused RSD 1.96 million (less than EUR 17,000) in damage to EPS, enabling Hidroenergo Dubočica to earn an equal value of illicit gains, according to the press release.

Arrests over mini HPP Dubočica made last month

In mid-July, police arrested five employees at distribution system operator EPS Distribucija in Kraljevo on suspicion of office abuse and causing RSD 2.4 million (over EUR 20,000) in damage to EPS.

Those arrested are suspected of having illegally enabled connecting Dubočica to the distribution network, earning RSD 2.4 million in illicit gains and causing damage to EPS in the same amount, EPS said at the time.

Residents opposed to run-of-river small hydropower plants

Citizens across the Balkans have been protesting the construction of run-of-river small hydropower plants for two years now.

The local residents say that the plants’ construction would make hard lives in remote areas even harder, experts say that run-of-river SHPPs destroy ecosystems and biodiversity, and civil society organizations are going a step further, providing arguments why solar, for example, should be incentivized instead of small hydropower plants to avoid a backlash against all renewables.

Comments (0)

Be the first one to comment on this article.

Enter Your Comment
Please wait... Please fill in the required fields. There seems to be an error, please refresh the page and try again. Your comment has been sent.

Related Articles

Zivkovic EPS BEF 2025 Weakness in Serbian energy system is no option

Weakness in Serbian energy system is no option

16 May 2025 - Serbia's EPS is committed to green targets, but it won't compromise energy security, CEO Dušan Živković said at BEF 2025

bih belgrade energy forum 2025 bef mirza kusljugic batteries

BiH laying groundwork for battery energy storage systems

15 May 2025 - The State Electricity Regulatory Commission is drafting a decision on BESS, Mirza Kušljugić said at Belgrade Energy Forum 2025

North Macedonia Law on Energy

North Macedonia adopts Law on Energy

15 May 2025 - With a majority of votes, 62 out of 120, the Assembly of North Macedonia adopted the Law on Energy, aligning the legal framework with the EU

Consortium completing spatial plan for solar-BESS strategic partnership in Serbia

15 May 2025 - Hyundai Engineering and UGT Renewables are in a strategic partnership in Serbia for 1.2 GW, with batteries. They plan to expand in the region.