Work on main plant of RHPP Bistrica to begin at end of next year, preparations to begin this year

The water level of the Danube is at a historic low. Inflows are around 1,400 cubic meters per hour, which means they are lower than in 2003 and 1985 when they were at their lowest, but production is certainly the lowest since the commissioning of the Djerdap 1 HPP, which was in 1970. So, all of this creates an extremely complex situation, but there is no reason to worry, the system is stable and it is managed very responsibly, said Minister of Mining and Energy Dubravka Djedovic Handanovic.

She added that the situation was irregular in terms of everything that was happening in neighboring countries when it came to electricity production.

– This has also affected the pressure on prices on the electricity market, which are extremely high – she said.

She added that the missing electricity was also being purchased on the market, and that this was creating financial pressure. When asked what the situation was with the Djerdap hydroelectric power plant and whether the low water level could endanger the equipment and generators, Djedovic Handanovic said that all generators were in operation, that none were turned off, and that all the water that flew in was converted into electricity.

– Of course, on a much smaller scale, because the water inflows are very low. Somewhere, production is 40-50% higher than the annual average, and in fact, both Djerdap 1 and Djerdap 2 are operating at only 20-30% of their capacity, which therefore speaks of complexity, i.e. lower production. Water is monitored, water levels are maintained at the necessary high level for cooling the thermal power plants in both Kostolac and Obrenovac, so in Kostolac certain thermal power units had to be reduced, i.e. their operation by a third, which also affects production in the thermal sector – explains Djedovic Handanovic.

However, what is positive, as she says, is that despite the low inflows on the Drina River, the hydroelectric power plants and the reversible hydroelectric power plant Bajina Basta are operating more than planned - around 17-20%, which again provides additional security.

She reminded that, in March, Elektroprivreda had completed the rehabilitation of Serbia’s only reversible hydroelectric power plant, Bajina Basta, and that both units in operation had been revitalized. As she says, after 42 years, it was a major undertaking, and Serbia suffered in 2024 and 2025 from it not being in operation, she added.

– And it serves us to pump water when the solar hours are, when electricity is cheap, and to produce, or rather release that water and produce electricity through turbines when consumption is highest. And our plans to get another reversible hydroelectric power plant Bistrica show how necessary such facilities are for us at the moment and how much they will strengthen our energy security. We expect that the negotiations on financing with the Japanese Development Agency will be concluded, that is, in the second half of this year. Preparatory works are expected to start already this year, and then works on the main plant at the end of next year – the minister emphasized.

Ministarstvo rudarstva i energetike Republike Srbije

NIS a.d. Novi Sad

Hydroelectric Power Plant Đerdap

Reversible Hydroelectric Power Plant Bajina Bašta

Reversible Hydroelectric Power Plant Bistrica

Thermal Power Plant Kostolac

Radljevo

Naftna industrija Srbije

Ministry of Mining and Energy

Dubravka Đedović Handanović