The integrated electricity company located in Niksić, Montenegro Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG) stated that the government has the power to decide whether the company should take charge of the production at KAP aluminium smelter owned by Montenegro's Uniprom.
The majority state-owned power supplier EPCG on 13th December 2021 said it is not registered for aluminium production, so the decision of regardless to accept the proposal of Uniprom should be formulated by the majority shareholder.
On 11th December, Uniprom proposed to EPCG to take charge of the production at KAP smelter gratis for a year commencing from 1st January 2022 to evade the facility’s shut down due to a hostile energy price, which EPCG has tendered to be effective in early 2022.
EPCG said: "The board of directors expresses its readiness to offer Uniprom an additional incentive to the existing discount that will be defined and agreed with the general shareholders' meeting.”
Veselin Pejovic, the owner and CEO of Uniprom said in the previous week: “The company decided to close KAP due to the high energy costs that the company will incur after the expiry of its power supply contract with EPCG on January 1. KAP has so far been paying a price of 45 euro per MWh, while EPCG first offered a price of 120 euro per MWh, and then proposed an even higher price, of 127 euro per MWh, Pejovic said back then.”
Pejovic said: “If EPCG rejects the proposal, Uniprom will proceed to the gradual closure of KAP as of December 15, due to the unfavourable price of electricity proposed to come into force from the beginning of 2022.”
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