Germans Offering Millions, Serbia Reluctant

Absurd: TENT Working with Half Power, Because of Un-drained Mines Germans Offering Millions, Serbia Reluctant

Because of flooded mines in Kolubara basin, Thermal Power Plant Nikola Tesla (TENT) becomes only the half of coal it needs.

Belgrade- German Development Bank (KfW) offered Serbia a loan of 2.5 million for recovery of Kolubara mines, but the government refused, because the sum is not enough for the whole work to be done.

It’s being estimated that pumping water from Kolubara Mines could cost a bit more than 10 million euro. The Money KfW was ready to divert for recovery of mines from already approved loans would cover at least a quarter of expenses, and drainage of mines could at least be started. Because of problems in coal supply of TENT, drainage was announced as a priority, for the end of June, or for the beginning of July. The way it is, we still wait for a tender, which is already late.

The more we are late with recovery of Kolubara mines, the more will Serbia get into trouble with production of electrical power in TENT, which now becomes only a half from usual 90,000 tones of coal daily. Because of that diminished production and because of import, the outgoing Minister of finances Lazar Krstić demanded, as Blic already wrote, 30% higher power prices. The current situation is favorable only for importers of the electrical power.
 

According to information obtained by Blic, KfW has offered a loan of 2.5 million euro, i.e. a company from Netherland which would do the job worth that much with its pumps, and recover the mines. The only responsibility of Serbian state would be to provide fuel for the pumps, but EPS (Electric Power Industry of Serbia) refused that...