Djedovic Handanovic meets with IMF mission

BELGRADE - Serbian Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic met with an International Monetary Fund (IMF) mission in Belgrade on Friday.

Reforms and priority investments in the energy sector were the main topics of the discussion with the IMF mission, led by Annette Kyobe.

Djedovic Handanovic said important steps had been taken in the past two years to advance the institutional and regulatory framework, above all, by amendments to the law on energy and the law on use of renewable energy sources and numerous by-laws based on these acts.

"Ambitious goals have also been set in the reform agenda, and were met as early as before the end of last year in the electric power sector, while progress has also been made in the gas sector. The Energy Community has designated Serbia as the leader in reforms in the electric power and renewables sectors, and we have made the most progress in the region when it comes to preparedness for merging our electricity market with that of the EU," Djedovic Handanovic said.

She added that major capital investments had been completed in the thermal electric power sector last year, including the B3 unit of the Kostolac coal-fired power plant and a desulphurisation unit at the TENT A plant, to ensure additional energy security and harmonise the operation of Serbia's largest thermal electric power sector capacities with European and local environmental regulations.

She said a plan of energy sector priorities had been updated by amendments to the starting foundations of an energy infrastructure development plan and energy efficiency measures for the period until 2028 with projections until 2030, whose amendments were adopted by the Serbian government on Thursday.

She said a new integrated national energy and climate plan and a new development strategy for the energy sector completed a strategic development framework for the sector, setting the direction and the objectives of energy transition until 2050.

Under one of the scenarios, the possibility of using nuclear power after 2040 is also considered, the minister said.

Djedovic Handanovic noted that reforms within the national power company EPS were progressing well and that the bulk of organisational optimisation measures had already been carried out, primarily in administrative departments, through a 40 pct reduction of management levels at the company's headquarters and branch offices.

The parties also discussed security of supplies in the oil sector in the context of the announced US sanctions on Serbia's Russian majority-owned oil company NIS, as well as preparations to introduce carbon emission pricing.