The Government of Serbia announced that at today’s session, it appointed Miroslav Tomašević, the current executive director for energy production in that company, as the acting director of the Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS).
Tomašević came to the position of the executive director for energy production in EPS from the branch of the Thermal Power Plant and mines “Kostolac” after the accident in the thermal power plant “Nikola Tesla” in Obrenovac on December 12, 2021.
EPS has been operating without a director since mid-January this year, when the resignation of acting director Milorad Grčić was adopted, and that company, in cooperation with the relevant Ministry of Mining and Energy, was managed by Tomašević.
The President of Serbia, Aleksandar Vučić, has repeatedly announced that a new acting director of EPS will be elected in “a few days”, and more than a month and a half has passed since then.
The reason for Grcic’s resignation was the collapse of the power system on December 12 last year, during a snowstorm, when all the blocks of the Thermal Power Plant “Nikola Tesla” in Obrenovac fell due to poor quality coal mixed with mud, so for better combustion and new large quantities of fuel oil had to be used to start the blocks.
That disaster cost Serbia hundreds of millions of euros because it imported electricity at unprecedented prices of 400 euros per megawatt-hour (MWh).
Although Vučić said at the open session of the Government of Serbia on December 14, 2021 that those responsible for the energy collapse must bear the consequences, addressing Grčić with the words “he hopes that they understood each other well when it comes to personal and any other responsibility”, Grčić he was not removed then, and he did not resign.
A few days later, Grcic fired four directors in EPS, explaining that it was sabotage and that it would be investigated by the Security Information Agency (BIA), but that report was not published.
After a series of incidents in TENT and RB “Kolubara”, Grčić resigned on January 12, but remained in EPS, and the public does not know exactly what his powers are.
Before resigning, Grcic accused the Minister of Mining and Energy, Zorana Mihajlovic, of destroying the electric power system if she is not replaced.
At the end of January, Mihajlović announced that her ministry had filed two criminal charges against Grčić and some other people, and said that they had received reports from the working group that everything was ready for the coming winter.
Mihajlovic said about Tomasevic that he “helped a lot in stabilizing the system, that he has authority and that he knows his job”.
Grcic, a member of the Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), enjoyed strong support from Vucic, which he said in an open letter of resignation.
He was appointed acting director of EPS in March 2016, and although his term expired after a year, he continued to perform that duty, despite the warning of the State Audit Institution.