In a TV interview, VMRO-DPMNE official Vlado Talevski presented the dire situation in the energy sector in Macedonia. The Kovacevski Government is on a PR campaign, insisting that it has ramped up energy production, but according to Talevski, the reality is dismal.

In 2019, the state owned ESM energy company produced 4,250 GWH of electricity. In 2020, this dropped to 3,642. In 2021 – it’s down to 3,170 GWH. Last year, the key REK Bitola plant produced miserable 1,900 GWH. It has three generators with 230 MW each. This means that, on average, REK Bitola operated at less that one of its generators each day, just 27 percent of its installed capacity, Talevski said. Meanwhile, the auxiliary REK Oslomej coal plant worked just 50 days last year, using imported coal.

“Direct result of this crisis is that 5,000 companies shut down because of the high electricity prices. This contributed to Macedonia having the highest inflation in the region, at 19.8 percent”, Talevski added.