Montenegrin state-controlled power utility EPCG said on Friday its 218 MW
Pljevlja thermal power plant (TPP) will be taken offline on April 25 for
scheduled 30-day annual maintenance.
The cost of the planned overhaul
works is around 4.5 million euro ($4.88 million), EPCG said in a
statement.
TPP Pljevlja generated 410,000 MWh of electricity in the first
quarter of 2015, 5.5% ahead of plan. The power station delivered 1,317 GWh of
electricity to the Montenegrin grid in 2014.
In March, EPCG said it had
unsealed the final bids submitted by Skoda Praha and by the China Machinery
Engineering Corporation (CMEC) for the construction of a second unit at TPP
Pljevlja.
The Czech company has offered to build a 254 MW unit with
electrical efficiency of 39.5% for 338.5 million euro, EPCG said in a statement.
CMEC has offered to build a 250 MW unit with an electrical efficiency of 39% for
326 million euro.
Both companies have stated they are ready to secure
favourable credits to cover 85% of the necessary funding and to also perform a
technical and environmental retrofit ofTPP Pljevlja's existing 218 MW unit
worth around 20 million euro.
The commission in charge of assessing the
submitted offers should come up by the end of April with a final proposal for
the selection of the best bidder for the project.
The construction of the
new unit at TPPPljevlja should support Montenegro's independence in terms of
energy supply as well as improving the reliability of supply and helping
position the country as electricity exporter.
EPCG operates around 870 MW
of installed generation capacity. The utility produced a combined 3,036 GWh of
electricity in 2014 at its three hydro power plants - Perucica, Piva and Male,
and at TPP Pljevlja.