Minister of Energy and Mining of the Republic of Srpska (RS) Petar Djokic said that RS intends to help the neighboring Serbia cope with the ongoing energy crisis and will provide some quantities of coal from Ugljevik coalmine to Serbian power utility EPS.
Minister Djokic stressed that, although the coalmine supplies coal from thermal power plant Ugljevik, currently Serbia is the priority. He added that, if there are some quantities of coal left after supplying TPP Ugljevik, these would be sold on the open market.
Serbian coal production significantly decreased after several incidents at the Kolubara mining basin in late 2021/early 2022 and it currently cannot provide enough coal for the operation of TPP Nikola Tesla (TENT) complex.
In 2022, Serbia became the largest importer of coal from Bosnia and Herzegovina and it also agreed coal imports from Pljevlja coalmine in Montenegro and Maritsa East basin in Bulgaria.