A large 400 kilowatts power relay unit was finally delivered from Turkey to Bitola, more than a year after a fire destroyed the old unit and put one of the three generators in the REK Bitola plant out of commission.

The incident happened at the peak of the energy crisis in Macedonia when domestic output was already very low due to mismanagement of the Bitola coal mine. This forced the country to turn to very expensive (and lucrative – for politically connected businessmen) energy imports that are lasting to this day.

The 240 tons unit was transported by train and boat from Turkey through Greece and may be installed in the next two weeks, which will allow increased production in REK Bitola, provided that there is sufficient coal.