Italian company A2A has asked for the deadline set on reaching a new agreement
with the Montenegrin government for the management of co-owned Podgorica-based
power utility EPCG to be extended until July 31, local media reported.
In
April, after the five-year management agreement between the government and A2A
expired, the government set June 30 as the deadline for the conclusion of a new
EPCG deal, while allowing the company to run the power utility in the
meantime.
The main reason for A2A’s hesitation is the wedge driven
between the company and the government by their differing positions on priority
investments, news portal Vijesti.me reported.
The Italians believe that
the construction of a second unit at EPCG-operated thermal power plant (TPP)
Pljevlja is currently not cost-effective, something with which the government
disagrees. A2A is looking for a third partner to finance the project.
The
government is yet to comment on A2A's request for a deadline
extension.
In May, EPCG said Skoda Praha had filed the most favourable
bid for the construction of Pljevlja's second unit, offering to build a 254 MW
facility with electric efficiency of 39.5% for 338.5 million euro ($376
million).
The government had said that if a common solutionfor the
construction of the TPP is not reached by June 30, the interim agreement will
cease to have effect and the state will take over the management of EPCG and
continue to implement the TPP project regardless of A2A's position.
In
2009, A2A signed a deal to acquire a minority stake in EPCG from the Montenegrin
government while taking on a significant role in its management. The Montenegrin
government remains the majority owner of EPCG with a 57% stake while A2A owns
41.75%.
EPCG operates867 MW of installed generation capacity, including
657 MW of hydro and 210 MW of thermal power capacity. The utility produced 3,036
GWh of electricity in2014.