December 28 (SeeNews) - Montenegro's government plans to complete a project for the modernisation of Pljevlja thermal power plant (TPP) by 2021, in order to avoid the closure of the plant, environment minister Pavle Radulovic said.
The power plant has a utility life of 20,000 hours in the period between January 1, 2018, and December 31, 2023, Radulovic said in a video file posted on the YouTube channel of the Montenegro government on Wednesday.
"The ecological reconstruction will be completed by 2021, so there is no fear of possible interruption of supply in that period. It is important that this limit of 20,000 hours applies only to the functioning of the TPP with the existing technology," Radulovic said.
The existing unit of Pljevlja TPP could work for 20 years after its modernisation is completed, he added.
In October, Montenegro's state-run power utility Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) [MNG:EPCG] said it plans to invest 40 million euro ($47 million) over the next three years in the modernisation of the Pljevlja TPP.