EBRD oks 200 mln euro loan for restructuring of Serbia’s EPS

BELGRADE (Serbia), July 13 (SeeNews) – The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) said on Monday it has approved an up to 200 million euro ($222.1 million) sovereign guaranteed loan for the restructuring of Serbian state-owned energy utility EPS.

The loan proceeds will be used to restructure and refinance expensive short to medium-term financial debt which EPS has entered into on an emergency basis with commercial banks in order to alleviate the deteriorating cash situation created by the unprecedented and catastrophic floods in Serbia in 2014, the EBRD said in a statement.

The EBRD investment will be conditioned upon an agreed plan for a comprehensive programпе of reforms of the company and of the sector which will have a significant impact on the development, management and operational efficiency of the power infrastructure in Serbia.

The EBRD expects to lengthen the tenors and provide terms more consistent with EPS’s operations.

The total net output capacity of the EPS power generation facilities added up to 7,124 MW at the end of 2014. The group’s electricity output fell 14.6% to 31,963 GWh in 2014 when record floods damaged the Balkan state’s energy infrastructure, disrupting power production and the operation of coal mines that supply EPS’ biggest power stations.

($=0.9003 euro)

source: powermarket.seenews.com