The Energy Corporation of Kosovo (KEK) opened an auction for the sale of 100.000 tons of coal, with an initial price of 29 euros per ton, from which it expects to receive more than three million euros, Kossev announced.
In June 2021, KEK sold around 300.000 tons of coal, for 14 euros per ton. At that time, the average price of energy on the Hungarian stock exchange was 78 euros for one megawatt hour, and the current price on the same stock exchange is 500 euros for one megawatt hour, or six times higher.
The price of 29 euros per ton set by KEK is the minimum, it is expected that the coal will be sold at a higher price at the auction.
In KEK's invitation to the auction, it is emphasized that the buyer will not be allowed to resell coal within Kosovo, except when he has the appropriate permit.
Huge potential
"About 76 percent of the total coal reserves in Serbia are located in Kosovo. To the west of the road that leads from Kosovska Mitrovica to Pristina, near the town of 20.000 inhabitants, which the Serbs call Obilić, and the Albanians Kastriot, at the place where the chimneys of the Kosovo thermal power plants rise above the plain, all the way to the rim of the hill on the horizon, stretches the territory below which they hide unusually large deposits of soft brown coal, lignite. But that is only one part of the Kosovo coal basin", wrote "Vreme" in the text "Kosovo lignite - Coal in the heart of Serbia" back in 2011.
There, almost on the outskirts of the capital of Kosovo, are the surface mining mines Belaćevac and Dobro Selo, from which only a fiftieth of Kosovo's large lignite reserves have been mined in the last few decades, which, without any doubt, are large not only in Serbia but also in on a European scale.
Serbia has to import coal
Due to the very bad situation in the "Kolubara" Mining Basin, Serbia is now forced to import coal. Kosovo Prime Minister Aljbin Kurti rejected Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić's proposal to exchange Serbian electricity for Kosovo coal two months ago.
After the European Union introduced an embargo on Russian coal and the price skyrocketed, Kosovo is literally sitting on "black gold".
Status in Serbian The mining basin "Kolubara" is very bad, due to negligence in the management of EPSO, Serbia is forced to import coal.
"Serbia could have avoided all this mess with electricity if the management of EPS had listened to experts, who for years warned that it was necessary to move to new coal deposits and stop digging up already exhausted deposits," wrote "Vreme" in the text "Energy situation - how to ensure electricity this winter".
As if out of spite, the system "broke" at the most inconvenient moment, so the total damage that EPS will suffer will probably reach more than one billion euros. This is how we got into a situation where EPS, instead of investing and building a new Štavalj thermal power plant, throws that money at importing electricity. At the same time, no one can guarantee that Serbia will have enough electricity during the winter
All over Europe, due to the general energy crisis, winter is being approached with anxiety.
MN/FoNet
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