EPCG expects to sign KfW loan for Perucica HPP's 8th turbine

Also at the beginning of June, EPCG plans to open a tender for the project design, supply and installation of needed electronic and mechanical equipment for the new 58.5 MW turbine, EPCG said in a statement on Friday.

Once installed, the eighth turbine will lift the overall capacity of HPP Perucica to 365.5 MW from current 307 MW.

EPCG also said that it signed on Friday a contract with state-controlled power transmission system operator Crnogorski Elektroprenosni Sistem (CGES) for building the infrastructure necessary for connecting the new turbine to the grid.

"We believe we could have the A8 turbine connected to the grid in the next two years," EPCG's executive director, Ivan Bulatovic, said in the statement.

EPCG's installed generation capacities total 874 MW, with 649 MW coming from the two big hydro power plants, Perucica and Piva, and 225 MW being contributed by the country's sole thermal power plant, TE Pljevlja. EPCG also has several small hydropower plants.

In 2023, Montenegro's electricity production rose 25% on the year and was 12% higher than planned, reaching 4,043 GWh, and meeting the needs of gross consumption which went up 3% to 3,179 GWh, the energy ministry said in March.

HPP Perucica generated 1,039 GWh of electricity last year, up 45% compared to 2022, while HPP Piva's output jumped 67% to 933 GWh. The electricity produced by TE Pljevlja increased 5% to 1,523 GWh.

($ = 0.939 euro)