Unit 3 of coal-fired thermal power plant Bitola is again out of operation, again with the same issue with the transformer.
There were already problems with this transformer when it caught fire in late November, and the few days ago it was again the reason for putting the whole unit out of operation.
According to Stance Antovski, a member of the Energy Commission of the opposition party VMRO-DPMNE, the first inspections indicate an internal defect of the transformer and repairs in such cases take up to a year, so unit 3 of TPP Bitola could be out of operation for a whole year. This means that oil-fired TPP Negotino will have to cover the lack of production capacity. However, TPP Negotino produces electricity at the price of 170 euros/MWh, while ESM sells it to universal supplier EVN Home at the price of 41 euros/MWh.
In addition to financial losses, the prolonged operation of TPP Negotino also means more air pollution, since oil-fired power plant is even more polluting than the coal-fired one.
