Macut says enrgy situation stable, appeals for rational consumption of electricity, water

BELGRADE - Serbian PM Djuro Macut said on Monday the energy situation in Serbia was completely stable, and appealed for rational electricity and water consumption, adding that work was also underway to ensure navigability on the Danube River.

Macut said an Emergency Response Team, which met earlier in the day to discuss high temperatures and low water levels on rivers in the country, had primarily addressed energy security, and noted that it was necessary to maintain the stability of the energy system, which he said had been fully secured.

"Another important thing is to ensure the functionality of the navigation regime, to have navigability down the Danube and to maintain the connection with the Danube-Tisa-Danube canal system, and work on that is underway. That is where Srbijavode and Vojvodinavode will handle most of the work to establish full functionality of that important system," Macut told reporters aboard a new high-speed Soko train during a round-trip promotional ride between Belgrade and Subotica.

He added that the Danube water level dictated the amount of electricity generated by the Djerdap hydropower plant system.

"The appeal to the population is that we try to streamline consumption over the next few days," Macut said, noting that the government was trying to ensure that problems resulting from low water levels were not felt by the citizens.

"This is a global crisis in Europe due to great drought and low water levels, low precipitation. There was precipitation in Germany, in Bavaria, at the weekend, but the level of the Danube does not reflect that very much. We have a problem that is unprecedented in the modern history of our country, as well as central Europe," Macut said.