Ambassador Gjelstad: Norway Not Interested in Buying Serbian Power Utility

EPS (BETAPHOTO/ AMIR HAMZAGIC)

Norwegian companies are not interested in buying Serbian power utility Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS), said Norway’s ambassador in Belgrade, Jorn Eugen Gjelstad, in an interview for the July 6 edition of the Danas daily; rather, Norway’s current involvement in reforming and restructuring Serbia’s energy sector was requested by the Serbian authorities and stems from the two nations’ strategic partnership.

The Norwegian experts on EPS’s supervisory board were brought in to raise professionalism and efficiency, Gjelstad explained. The goal is to increase transparency, productivity and integrity, and there are no plans for mass lay-offs at the state-owned power company, which was recently incorporated.

According to the ambassador, Norway can share its experience in professional management and enhancing production in the energy sector, especially with regards to what worked and what did not, but the Serbian government will be making decisions and shaping the course of reforms.

“Norway strongly supports state ownership in this sector, given its social significance and key role in the national economy,” Gjelstad stated, adding that EPS is bound to remain a Serbian company.

The diplomat also explained that, in its current state, the utility is not attractive to Western investors since the majority of power production is coal-based, while the company itself lacks a corporate culture that reflects the international principles of corporate management.