EPS expects credit rating – The goal is to enter the foreign capital market and issue the first green bonds

Elektroprivreda Srbije plans to enter the domestic and international capital markets, and the first step towards that is to obtain a credit rating, said Executive Director for Finance Milan Lakovic, stating that in the next phase, conditions could be created for the issuance of the first green bonds on the Serbian market.

Speaking at the “Energy, Projects, Safety” conference in Zlatibor, Lakovic emphasized that the inclusion of all stakeholders was necessary for a sustainable energy transition, given that it was estimated that the total capital costs of decarbonization would reach around 27 billion euros by 2050.

– It is not possible to implement the green transition exclusively from our own resources. The involvement of the state, international development and financial institutions, commercial banks, but also entry into the capital market is necessary – said Lakovic.

He added that EPS already had significant resources for the development of renewable energy projects, including land and existing network infrastructure, which represented a good basis for further investment development.

– EPS is ready for partnerships with private investors, joint ventures and fair power purchase agreements, but also for the takeover of mature or completed RES projects – stated Lakovic.

At the same meeting, EPS’s Executive Director for Investments and Development Aleksandar Jakovljevic pointed out that one of the key projects in the transition process was the Bistrica reversible hydropower plant, which should enable the connection of an additional 1,500 MW from renewable sources.

– The green transition is not only the development of RES, but also the issue of security of supply, which currently relies mostly on coal. These two processes must take place in parallel – said Jakovljevic.

He added that EPS would continue to invest in mining in the next decade in order to ensure stable supply, while simultaneously developing renewable sources and adjusting the entire energy system.

Elektroprivreda Srbije ad Beograd

Milan Laković

Aleksandar Jakovljević

EPS credit rating

EPS green bonds