The Energy Agency of Serbia (AERS) announced that it has approved the increase in the price of electricity for residential consumers, which will increase by 6.5 % to 0.069 euros/kWh as of 1 September 2022.
The request for the increase was filed by state- owned power utility EPS. The statement from the regulator said that the price of electricity is determined on the basis of the maximum approved income and the estimated amount of electricity for sale to customers on the guaranteed supply.
Last week, Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Zorana Mihajlovic said that the price of electricity should be increased by up to 10 % by the end of 2022.
EPS is currently under heavy financial strain due to electricity imports at extremely high prices. At the moment, EPS is importing between 6 and 12 % of Serbia’s daily electricity consumption.
Problems with the supply of coal for Nikola Tesla TPP complex and severe drought are the main reasons for EPS’ lower output.
It is estimated that EPS spent over one billion euros on electricity imports in the first half of 2022. This is reflected in its financial result , as the company recorded a loss of more than 250 million euros in the first quarter of the year.