On September 10, Serbia faced a significant moment when it was importing electricity equivalent to one-third of its daily consumption. Experts are raising concerns about preparations for winter, while President Aleksandar Vučić has announced plans to address the issue by increasing coal production.
At approximately 1:30 PM on that day, Serbia imported 1.026 gigawatts of electricity, while total production from all sources stood at 2.7 gigawatts. This meant that Serbia was importing nearly 30% of its electricity needs at that time.
The following day saw a slight improvement, with Serbia importing around 771 megawatts, aligning more closely with its consumption levels.
Compared to the previous week’s heatwave, this week’s electricity consumption was about 600-700 megawatt-hours lower, and electricity prices have dropped significantly, as reported by Danas. During the peak hours of 6 PM to 9 PM in the heatwave, electricity prices had surged to 800-900 euros per megawatt-hour. On September 10 at 6 PM, prices were 475 euros, down from 720 euros on September 3 and 830 euros on September 4, with prices nearing 1,000 euros per megawatt-hour during the peak period.
In July and August, Serbia spent 100 million euros on electricity imports, according to energy expert Nenad Jovanović.
Dušan Živković, Director of Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), stated on June 19 that the company earned 38 million euros from electricity trading since the start of the year.
Energy Minister Dubravka Đedović Handanović reported a 23 million euro surplus from electricity trading over the past five months.
President Vučić, on September 4, expressed frustration with the high costs of electricity imports and criticized the insufficient coal mining, promising that the situation would be addressed.
