The Electric Power Industry of Serbia (EPS) urgently needs a loan of RSD 50 billion or that public company would go bankrupt as soon as in late March, EPS Acting Director Aleksandar Obradovic said on Thursday.
At a news conference, Obradovic called on the EPS Managing Board to schedule a meeting as soon as possible to discuss a RSD 50 billion loan, and decide on the designation of the public supplier and distribution system operator.
The Serbian government has already approved all these decisions, by endorsing the EPS plan for business operations in 2013, Obradovic said, noting that the loan is the only way in which the EPS can avoid the freeze of accounts, which would lead to bankruptcy.
“Our plan is not to take out a loan thanks to state guarantees, but rather to try to find necessary money in the market,” he said, adding that a rise in the electricity prices is another strong argument for the EPS to be granted a loan from banks.
Obradovic underlined that in September, when he took over the EPS he found a bad situation in the company, which recorded a loss of RSD 33 billion and shortage of around RSD 40 billion in working capital in 2012.
Outstanding obligations to the company total around RSD 120 billion, and it would not be realistic to expect that they could be paid in a short period. Therefore, the EPS could not secure necessary means for its liquidity even by receiving an approval for an increase in electricity prices and giving up on investments, so a loan is the only solution, Obradovic said.
Speaking about the company’s restructuring plan, Obradovic said the EPS would not speedily reduce the number of its workers or close companies that are operating as part of the company.
In its conclusions of November 2012, the Serbian government gave clear guidelines for the restructuring of this company, including its transformation from a public company into a joint-stock company, as well as the designation of the public supplier and one distribution system operator within the EPS, Obradovic said.
Source B92
