The coal-fired thermal power plant Ugljevik in Bosnia and Herzegovina ceased operations shortly after midnight on January 12 due to inadequate coal supplies. This shutdown was executed in a controlled manner, reflecting a critical assessment that the available fuel could not sustain safe operational levels for the facility.
Management attributed the disruption to severe weather conditions that hindered mining activities, thereby limiting the extraction and delivery of coal necessary for the plant’s continued operation. The parent company, ERS, was formally notified that no electricity would be generated for the grid during this period.
This incident underscores persistent structural issues facing the largest electricity producer in the Republic of Srpska. TPP Ugljevik has been struggling with unreliable coal supplies for several months, primarily due to delays in mining operations at the Ugljevik-Istok 2 exploitation field, which is intended to provide a stable fuel source for the plant.
Despite the RS Government’s investment of over €90 million towards acquiring Comsar, which is expected to total €124 million, doubts are growing regarding the effectiveness and timing of this investment. The ongoing coal shortages have led to repeated outages at the plant, raising alarms about system reliability.
The situation worsened recently when a 270-ton excavator overturned at the open-pit mine, compounding existing disruptions in coal extraction operations. This series of events highlights the fragile state of one of the region’s key thermal power plants, particularly as energy system stability remains a pressing concern.
