Zivkovic: Price of electricity not to increase this year, EPS to commence reforms

Structural changes are beginning in all the production sectors and the operating system of EPS. The long-announced reforms of our biggest enterprise are enabled by the Transformation Plan which the company’s Assembly adopted last week. The general director of EPS, Dusan Zivkovic, points out that the geopolitical situation and the challenges that we have been facing in the past period, especially in 2022, as well as the energy crisis, have imposed a new reality in the energy sector both locally and globally.

– Energy companies are facing crucial topics, which concern energy sovereignty, energy security, the changes related to the green agenda and the transformation of the energy sector into something new. That’s where EPS sees the need to change, to initiate the process of structural reforms, to start transforming the company, which will primarily aim to achieve a long-term financial stability, a long-term energy security, but also the necessary investments that are supposed to accompany it all – Zivkovic emphasized on RTS.

On the other hand, we are also witnessing the fluctuation of the employees and the movement trends in the world when it comes to the labor force.

– We are experiencing this in Serbia too and that segment as well is a topic that will be treated as a process of boosting human resources through the transformation of EPS, believing that the transformation of the company in that sense will benefit both the company and the citizens of Serbia – explains Zivkovic.

According to him, that entails certain operating improvements of the business operations.

When asked about whether there could be surplus employees in certain segments of production, Zivkovic notes that that’s not the topic.

– The new processes are the topic. Digitization, renewable sources and probably the fluctuation of the employees, job changes, re-qualifications. So, that’s really not the topic, but the changes that will follow it structurally, among other things, this segment as well, with the aim of having all employees have security in the coming period – underlined Zivkovic.

There are already speculations in the public that the transformation entails the separation of the Directorate for Electricity Trade.

The director of EPS repeats that that’s not the topic at all, that financial and energy security are in fact the topics.

– The importance of electrical energy trade is really not questioned and putting that part of the company, that is, that function, under my jurisdiction as the general director only proves how important within the company that part is – emphasizes Zivkovic.

Zivkovic notes that, based on the adopted documents, in the next year and a half to two years, the implementation of the process of the transformation of EPS should be carried out.

The overhauls have begun, the hydrology situation is good, and electricity is being imported.

– That segment of the commercialization of the company also entails a profit. There are days, for example, like the last weekend, when the market prices are at the level of minus 10 to five to 10 euros. Certainly, that’s a period where own resources should be saved, and it is precisely these hydrology sources and the coal deposits that should be saved and get relatively cheap electricity which can later be deployed at some other moments, when it is considerably more expensive, because in the evening hours, it can be EUR 200 per megawatt-hour – explained Zivkovic.

One of the important segments in the transformation of the company is financial stability, and it will be achieved by participating actively in the electricity market, adds the director of EPS.

What the citizens want to know about the most is the price electricity. Zivkovic says that the price of electricity will not increase and that it is likely to remain the way it is, as shown by the financial reports that the company has presented to the public.

– There is no basis or reason for an electricity price increase this year – Zivkovic underlines.

Notification for households

Elektroprivreda Srbije has sent a notification to 30,000 household addresses inviting them to update their data. The process of the digitization of the entire supply of our consumers is in progress through the “Uvid u racun” portal and various apps that are available too. They also require the uniformity of the data about each customer, he says. The database update is something that has to be done so that each consumer would have uniform data about themselves and be able to register in order to know everything about their consumption of electricity by using the app.

According to him, the most practical way is to come and submit a signed agreement.

May bills and complaints

May bills have arrived and there are complaints once again.

– These complaints are even below the average numbers we have had in the past period at the level of these 3.5 million consumers that we have, it’s around 0.19% – noted Zivkovic.

Elektroprivreda Srbije ad Beograd

Elektroprivreda Srbije ad Beograd

EPS

Directorate for Electricity Trade

Dušan Živković

reforms in EPS

renewable energy sources

digitization

digitalization