In view of the campaign that has been conducted against our company for some time, and in order to provide the public with accurate information, we hereby state the following:
As we have explained several times, the increase in the number of employees/personnel was due to the requirements of the work process and a business decision that the implementation of investment projects already under way, as well as the commencement of new ones, would best be completed or begun using our own workforce, which would be subject to control and supervision, with the right of the competent authorities within the Company to take corrective measures regarding personnel and their work. Following a comprehensive review of previous working methods, costs, compliance with deadlines and the quality of completed works, a business decision was made to organise, to the greatest extent possible, services and works previously entrusted to third parties using our own resources. To this end, periodic recruitment began, primarily of professional staff to implement projects.
The increased number of employees/personnel is in organisational units engaged exclusively in the core business (maintenance of power facilities, maintenance of Company facilities, investment-related supervision and design, and metering and distribution network management).
We would also like to point out that some workers had previously been engaged under temporary contracts and that, upon the expiry of two years, we were obliged to establish permanent employment relationships with them in compliance with the Labour Law. CEDIS management is not prepared to violate applicable regulations or make decisions that could be challenged in court and thereby cause damage to the company.
With regard to the increase in salaries, we note that employee salaries at CEDIS did not increase during the 2020–2022 period. The increase in the average net salary in 2022 was largely due to the calculation of salaries in accordance with the “Europe Now” programme.
Regarding the negative financial results, we inform you that the Coordination Group of Energy Community Distribution System Operators (ECDSO-E CG), in its analysis entitled “The Impact of the Recent Energy Crisis on the Operations and Sustainability of Electricity Distribution System Operators in the Energy Community”, emphasised that distribution system operators have been particularly affected by the crisis. A separate document set out specific recommendations for regulatory agencies and decision-makers in the Energy Community Contracting Parties, proposing changes to the tariff framework, a shorter regulatory period, and measures addressing excessive electricity consumption, all with the aim of ensuring that the energy crisis does not jeopardise the normal operation and business sustainability of distribution system operators. As a result of the global energy crisis and the enormous increase in the price of purchasing electricity to cover losses in the distribution system, CEDIS recorded a negative operating result of EUR 9,846,752 in the 2021 financial year and a loss of EUR 11,682,021 in 2022.
“High operating expenses” were caused by a significant increase in the cost of purchasing electricity to cover losses in 2021 and 2022. This cost was significantly higher than the cost CEDIS would have incurred had it purchased the stated quantities of electricity at the price approved by the Energy and Regulated Utilities Regulatory Agency (REGAGEN). The total cost incurred for purchasing electricity to cover losses in the distribution system in 2021 and 2022, which CEDIS procured openly and transparently and purchased from EPCG as the sole bidder, amounted to EUR 73,564,659—EUR 34,651,095 more than the cost would have been had CEDIS purchased electricity to cover losses at the price set by REGAGEN.
Therefore, no quasi-fiscal activities have taken place; all electricity purchases have been duly recorded, as can be seen from the increase in “cost of goods sold”. The significant outflow of funds to settle invoices for electricity purchases, alongside only a slight increase in revenue (there was no increase in network service prices), reduced cash funds and current assets, thereby affecting the company’s liquidity.
For these reasons, CEDIS approached EPCG to carry out the financial consolidation of CEDIS through an optimal legal mechanism.
By its Decision on Increasing its Stake in CEDIS, No. 10-00-27586 of 16 June 2023, EPCG carried out the financial consolidation of the Company in the amount of EUR 21.5 million, corresponding to the difference between the market purchase price of electricity and the price set by the Energy and Regulated Utilities Regulatory Agency for 2021 and 2022.
We have also already commented on the details of spending on the business card. Although you reported MANS’s data, your newspaper did not see fit to publish our publicly available explanation, despite being required to do so under the Media Law and the Journalists’ Code of Ethics. You also did not contact us for an interpretation of this or any other data you have reported.
You state that “according to MANS data, over 17 months, 22 people who have an official CEDIS business card spent EUR 15,448, which is a lot considering the business results”. Had you analysed these figures, you would have known that they amount to EUR 908.7 per month, or EUR 41.3 per month for each person authorised to use an official business card. When writing on this subject, perhaps it is worth bearing in mind that CEDIS is one of the largest companies in Montenegro, both in terms of its importance to society and the number of employees. A total of 22 cards in a company of this size is a very small number, to say the least, as is the amount of funds available to management (EUR 17,500), which, as you can conclude from our response, they spend rationally. You also know, as citizens, that five euros is the minimum needed for two people to have coffee at a restaurant, so it is clear that the figures in no way indicate extravagance, contrary to how the matter has been portrayed in the media recently.
Finally, we invite you to contact us in the future for answers when writing about CEDIS, in the interests of good cooperation and the public.
