Serbian opposition slams 'incompetent' government over energy crisis

Dušan Nikezić, vice president of the Party of Freedom and Justice (SSP) in Serbia, has sharply criticized the current government's handling of the energy sector, labeling the administration as "incompetent" and led by a "prime minister without backbone."

Nikezić stated that Serbia currently relies on importing over a third of its electricity consumption, attributing this to the "devastation" of the state-owned EPS energy company over the past 15 years. He highlighted that domestic coal production has been destroyed, forcing the country to import coal via barges from Indonesia instead of extracting it from the Kolubara mine.

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no situation is naive, not even the current energy situation, with a government like the current one in Serbia, which he characterized as incompetent.

This reliance on imports and the dilapidated state of domestic production have led to significant operational issues. Nikezić pointed to the Block B1 at the TENT power plant being offline for seven days, the continued use of mazut and "mud" for fuel, and overall production capacity utilization falling below 50 percent.

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after 15 years of progressive devastation of EPS, Serbia has electricity today only because it imports more than a third of its consumption.

He argued that Serbian citizens are bearing the brunt of this "negligence, corruption, and ignorance," facing potential electricity shortages and having seen prices increase by 120 percent in the last 15 years – the highest in Europe. Further price hikes are expected in October, with reductions in the "red zone" consumption limits anticipated for August.

Nikezić asserted that neither Prime Minister Đuro Macut, nor the Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Đedović Handanović, nor President Aleksandar Vučić can resolve these accumulated problems, as they are directly responsible for EPS producing 24 percent less coal and 17 percent less electricity than 15 years ago. The SSP has proposed a plan, "Serbia After Vučić," which includes removing officials from public systems and opening all disputed contracts to halt the "devastation" of the public sector and recover allegedly stolen funds.

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the price of negligence, corruption, and ignorance is paid by the citizens of Serbia who are facing potential electricity shortages and whose electricity price has increased by 120 percent in the last 15 years, the most of all European countries.