Power Plants of North Macedonia (ESM) director Vasko Kovachevski said Monday that North Macedonia was one of the few countries in Southeast Europe that hasn’t seen a single day of power cuts, reduced production or supply issues, adding that the increase in electricity process is also the lowest in the region, news agency MIA reports.

He said it was difficult to manage the situation during a crisis that is further exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine conflict. However, he noted, with the support of the Government, ESM so far manages to deal with the situation.

“With such production that is increased, safe and stable, as well as with a reduced purchase of electricity, I expect that the price will be with the lowest increase again not just in the country, but the region,” Kovachevski pointed out in response to a question on whether citizens can expect increased in electricity price.

In November and December, when the crisis hit the hardest, 108,000 megawatt hours of electricity have been procured for EUR 29,579,000. In addition, 18,240 megawatt hours of electricity have been procured for EUR 4,851 in January and February.

According to Kovachevski, these funds have been paid with the Government’s financial support. He noted that an additional reason for the increase in the price on stock exchange was poor hydrology which is low throughout Europe, as well as winds that give less energy.

“Compared to 2021, the 2022 production plan was exceeded by 20 percent, and so far, in the first three months, we are fulfilling it well. At the same time, we’re not leaving investments aside. Twelve projects are underway, and there were zero projects when I took the post of ESM director. These investments that we are implementing and that are planned should improve the energy situation, and then we can talk about real prices for electricity,” Kovachevski said.

Asked about the financial support provided to ESM, Kovachevski said the Mden 233 million were a loan to stabilize financial liquidity. T+On the other hand, he noted, the available EUR 174 million were intended for the additional six products for which the company was indebted by the Government. In 2020, ESM has seen a loss of EUR 17 million, and in 2021 a loss of EUR 28 million.

However, Kovachevski stressed, that was not due to poor management, but those were losses that the Government then covers as they were incurred in accordance with its decisions.