VRAČAR: IF UNIPROM IS SUPPLIED WITH ELECTRICITY AT THE EXISTING PRICE, LOSS OF EPCG WILL BE 60 MILLION EUROS

‘EPCG has a contractual relation with Uniprom, not with KAP, in the form of the Contract on purchase and sale of electricity which is different from the Contract on electricity supply that we signed with the Steel Works and Railways. This category of customers which is supplied by electricity based on the Contract on purchase and sale of electricity (trading contract) includes CEDIS, as a daughter company and CGES as a state company, which are being delivered electricity by EPCG at market prices without discount (about 230 €/MWh), i.e. five times higher compared with the price paid by Uniprom KAP (45 €/MWh) with additional discount of five percent for regular settlement of monthly invoices’, Mr. Vračar explained. 

In his words, further applying of the existing prices for Uniprom would result in the loss of over 60 million euros in 2022 for the planned delivery of 600.000 MWh.

‘The burden would be undoubtedly borne by the citizens of Montenegro, i.e. it would reflect on the price paid by the citizens. Monthly difference in electricity price between 50.000 MWh at the existing stock market price for Uniprom of 45 euros/MWh (2.250.000 euros) and average stock market price for 2022 of 150 euros/MWh (7.500.000 euros) amounts to 5.250.000 euros, which could be used for payment of gross salaries in the amount of 900 euros for 500 employees for 12-month period. Accordingly, the loss for EPCG on this basis is estimated at 60 million euros at the annual level’, Mr. Vračar said.

He pointed out that the management of Uniprom, owned by the businessman Mr. Veselin Pejović, is using calculations regarding the price that might be offered by EPCG, instead of behaving responsibly and accepting the invitation to negotiate.

‘EPCG has never offered Uniprom the electricity price of 183 euros. As of today, energy for 2022 may be purchased at the Hungarian stock at the price of 150 euros/MWh, which means that the price for Uniprom company would be about 120 euros/MWh. In this manner, EPCG is trying to protect itself from huge oscillations on the European and world electricity stocks, thereby reducing its business operations risk’, Mr. Vračar said.

Also, the alleged counter offer to relate the price of electricity to the price of aluminum which was allegedly not accepted by EPCG, has actually never been presented to us, Mr. Vračar added.

‘Uniprom refused to even consider the change of price from the existing contract and ignored our invitations to negotiate. We would like to repeat that EPCG, due to drastically changed market situation and high increase in aluminum price, proposed to Uniprom the new price to be agreed upon at the meeting between the two companies. The meeting has not been arranged yet because Uniprom ignores the invitations of EPCG. Therefore, we once again invite UNIPROM to respond to our initiative to conduct negotiations regarding the terms of the future Contract on purchase and sale of electricity, as the current one expires at the end of 2021’, Mr. Vračar concluded.   
 
In order to conduct its mission which implies safe and stable electricity supply to the citizens and the state, EPCG needs to carry out its business activity in a stable and safe manner, Mr. Vračar explained. 

‘This certainly does not mean selling electricity to a company at the price of 45 euros and to purchase it at, for example, 150 euros. Who would bear the responsibility of difference in price’, Mr. Vračar asked.