Temporary halt to extraction at Suvodol after landslide; ESM says power production unaffected
REK Bitola reorganised staff for repair work while ESM says coal extraction continues and electricity output remains secure.
Coal extraction at the Suvodol mine has been temporarily halted after a landslide, and the mine’s operations are being reorganized while repair work is under way. Management at the REK Bitola complex issued orders moving some employees from shift work to full-time duties and reallocating staff to repair tasks according to their qualifications, the company says.
ESM: electricity production not at risk
In an internal notice employees were warned that failure to follow the new directives will be sanctioned under the law and the company’s collective agreement. At the same time, the state electricity company ESM insists that power generation is not endangered by the incident: while the crack is being repaired, extraction continues.
ESM’s written response states: "Although production and exploitation are taking place at reduced capacity according to the instructions from the remediation project, they are not endangered at any moment, so coal extraction continues uninterrupted in three shifts by the Suvodol division and by the Brod Gneotino mine." The company also says that some workers who normally work second and third shift have been moved to the first shift to support repair activities inside the plant.
To supplement domestic output, ESM is receiving daily deliveries of Greek coal in quantities of about 2,000 to 2,500 tonnes.
ESM reports that through August it has produced 25 percent less electricity than planned — a shortfall similar to last year — but the company attributes the reduction to economic operation rather than technical failures. The utility is maintaining an ambitious annual target of 4,300 GWh for 2026, a volume not reached in recent years; whether that goal will be met will become clearer once the heating season begins and will also depend on how severe the coming winter is.
It remains unclear how long the remediation will take and when extraction from the domestic Suvodol mine can return to higher levels.
Photo: press material from the event
