Today, Serbia makes losses in the distribution network of around 200 million euros a year, and installing smart meters is one of the ways to reduce those losses, Minister of Mining and Energy Zorana Mihajlovic said today at a meeting with a delegation from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD).
According to a statement from her office, she then attended the signing of a guarantee agreement for the “Smart Meters” project, as well as a loan agreement for the same project between Elektrodistribucija Srbije and the EBRD.
Mihajlovic pointed out that the goal of the state is for every part of Serbia to have a constant and constant supply of quality electricity, to which investments in the distribution network will contribute.
Today, we signed a contract for the first 40 million euros, the state gave guarantees for that, we will talk to all international partners on how to invest more in the distribution network, because that is the basis for being energy secure, the minister said.
Nandita Parshad, EBRD Director for Sustainable Infrastructure, said it was a 40 million euros loan and that the project would contribute to the modernization of the entire network and lead to a reduction in CO2 emissions.
She added that this is just the beginning of cooperation on this project, which provides support to users, enables them to control and reduce their consumption and contributes to the reduction of technical and commercial losses.
Sasa Stevanovic, State Secretary at the Ministry of Finance, said that the total value of the project is 80 million euros, and that contracts for phase 1A were signed today – procurement and installation of systems and software, and replacement of about 205,000 smart meters, N1 reports.
