DPS Member of Parliament in the Parliament of Montenegro Suzana Pribilović attempted to mislead the public with today’s statement by making false claims. We are therefore obliged, first and foremost to citizens and our customers, to set out the actual reasons that led to CEDIS’s negative business performance and thus refute Ms Pribilović’s claims.
The greatest challenge currently facing all energy systems in Europe is the high price of electricity on the European energy exchange. Montenegro has not been spared this challenge, and this is precisely the main reason that affected CEDIS’s business results. The sharp rise in electricity prices on the exchange, from around EUR 50/MWh in January to EUR 322/MWh today, with prices continuing to trend upwards, is the reason CEDIS incurred costs exceeding those approved by the Energy Regulatory Agency (RAE) for the purchase of electricity to cover losses in the distribution system, which are borne by the Company.
Had Ms Pribilović been interested in the actual reasons for the unplanned increase in costs, and approached this issue professionally rather than politically and manipulatively, she would have found that, when determining the regulatory allowed revenue for the 2020–2022 period, RAE approved CEDIS EUR 11,629,964 to cover losses in 2021, based on an approved electricity procurement price of EUR 53.39 per MWh. Ms Pribilović, no one at CEDIS could influence the price of electricity on the exchange, which is why our costs were so much higher than those approved by RAE, nor could we avoid the adverse impact that disruptions in the electricity market have on our Company. Had we procured electricity to cover losses at the price set by RAE, we would have operated profitably. We should note that CEDIS’s previous management did not procure electricity during the past year to cover losses in the distribution system in 2021. This decision was made for the first time, meaning that the previous management chose not to procure the required electricity in advance, knowingly exposing the Company to the considerable risk of having to procure electricity on a monthly basis.
In addition, Ms Pribilović, CEDIS is a company with a strong commitment to social responsibility. In view of the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on citizens’ living standards, discounts were granted to members of the Golden Team, that is, customers who pay their bills regularly, as well as to vulnerable customers (pensioners with the lowest incomes and unemployed people registered with the Employment Agency). The total projected value of the discounts is EUR 2.5 million. The Board approved the customer discounts at a time when there was no indication that electricity prices would surge, with the Company now bearing most of the resulting financial consequences. In some neighbouring countries, electricity companies have received state grants for the reasons stated above, and prices have also been increased for businesses.
Ms Pribilović, your attempts to portray CEDIS employees to the public as incompetent, unqualified and irresponsible, and to depict the Company as engaging in irrational spending, wastefulness and populist actions, are mere words on paper. CEDIS management and all employees perform their duties professionally, responsibly and conscientiously. Without wishing to explain this to you, we would like to point out, for the benefit of our customers, that management and employees are implementing cost-saving measures in all areas under our control. We have reduced operating costs wherever possible, as well as electricity losses by 0.5 percentage points.
This year has been extremely challenging for the energy sector. However, despite the impacts beyond our control, CEDIS is a financially sound company capable of meeting all its obligations to the state, employees and suppliers, and this will continue to be the case in the period ahead. In the first 10 months of this year alone, CEDIS paid more than EUR 15 million into the budget of the State of Montenegro.
We categorically reject Ms Pribilović’s claims regarding recruitment and her assertion that the Company’s current negative performance is the result of “party-political hiring”. You are clearly bothered by the fact that we intend to further strengthen our staffing capacity, as we plan to rely on our own resources to deliver projects, particularly the project to rehabilitate the medium- and low-voltage network and the project to replace and install so-called “smart” meters, as well as work that has previously been outsourced. We are convinced that this business policy is in the interests of the Company and its employees, as time will certainly show. Unfortunately, your political bias prevents you from seeing this.
Finally, Ms Pribilović, we will continue to work responsibly, diligently and with dedication in the interests of our customers and employees, who are the “backbone” of the electricity distribution system. Your attempts to target management and employees and portray them as a negative example of business conduct will not stop us from tackling problems that are beyond our “control”. We will continue our dedicated efforts to achieve our business objectives, whether you like it or not.
