Representatives of Social Democratic Party of Montenegro insist that consumers should not be the ones to pay for electricity thefts

Social Democratic Party of Montenegro (SDP) was not going to vote for the report by the Montenegrin Energy Regulatory Agency (RAE), as the latter had made some inadmissible mistakes in 2009, member of SDP Damir Sehovic told to Montenegrin daily Vijesti.

• RELATED ARTICLES
• 12.03.2010 Fast reaction of the Regulatory Energy Agency to the accusations of the Social Democratic Party of Montenegro
• 24.12.2009 Montenegrin energy sector in 2009 marked considerably by changes in ownership structures
• 03.09.2009 Partnership agreement between A2A and Elektroprivreda Crne Gore signed by the end of the week
• 09.03.2010 RAE denies irregularities in the electricity bills in Montenegro
• 16.04.2010 Montenegrin Energy Regulatory Agency requests protection from the Parliament

RAE has not ensured proper conditions for electricity to be sold to citizens at justified price, which is why the members of the Board of this regulatory authority no longer have any legitimacy to keep on with these activities.

PHOTO: Energetika.NET archive

Regulatory Agency had violated article six of the Montenegrin Energy Act and caused damage to the consumers by approving costs of Elektroprivreda Crne Gore (EPCG), for which the latter had neither a real coverage nor legal basis, Sehovic said.

The member of SDP believes that paying for electricity thefts is something that should not rest on the shoulders of end users but should be paid by EPCG itself. Sehovic said that unless the annual report by RAE did not receive majority vote in the Montenegrin Assembly, the Board of this regulatory body will no longer be given green light to pursue their work.

According to him, RAE has failed to discipline Elektroprivreda Crne Gore with any decisions on prices and tariffs they had issued so far in light of cutting commercial losses of electricity which were a result of its illegal consumption. Instead, the Agency had enabled the power utility to transfer the expenses arising from thefts to the consumers who regularly pay for their electricity and are not in the least responsible for the losses, Sehovic elaborated, adding that all this was reason enough for members of the Social Democratic Party to refuse to support the report on agency operations in 2009, which RAE was to submit to the Assembly by end June 2010 at the latest.

Share: