Electrical Engineers should be given greater importance in decision making process which certainly belongs to them
Aleksandar Mijušković, Chairman of the Board of Directors of CGES, on behalf of the general sponsor of the "7th Days of Electrical Engineers", solemnly opened this year's conference, which is held on 18 and 19 October 2023 in Podgorica. Mr. Mijušković, greeting the engineers and his colleagues, saying that he believed that engineers felt best in their workplaces, but, no doubt they would give their full contribution to this professional event.
While speaking about details from the company's portfolio, the Chairman of BoD emphasized that Montenegro became an energy hub with a construction of the submarine cable towards Italy, as a part of the Trans-Balkan Corridor Project, Phase 1.
"We have been working hard, trying to complete Phase 2, which includes the completion of the 400 kV Lastva -Pljevlja transmission line construction project. "It is an imposing facility crossing eight municipalities and two national parks, for which, despite numerous problems, we managed to complete 95 percent of the works." said Mijušković. He reminded that CGES was carrying out activities on constructing the 110 kV transmission line from Ulcinj to Velipolje. "We have been doing a lot when it comes to new substations and strengthening the system: closing a 400 kV ring, building a large switching station in Čevo, an imposing facility with six transmission lines, with several solar power plants to be connected to it," explained Mijušković. As for the financial indicators, he pointed out that in 2021, CGES had realized a profit of 17 million euros, and over 20 million euros in 2022, with expectation for the current year to be a record one, concluded Mijušković.
Srđan Laković, President of General Assembly of CEM pointed out that the CEM put in great effort and endeavours to improve the position of engineers in society. ‘’In the last few years, we have had excellent cooperation and support from the relevant ministry. I believe we are on the right track for engineers to get an even greater position in society, which they deserve, said Laković. Electrical engineers should receive the greater importance in decision-making that certainly belongs to them, to take an active role and predict sustainable scenarios about the construction of renewable energy sources, it was said at the professional conference 7th Days of Electrical Engineers of the Chamber of Engineers of Montenegro (CEM).
Sandra Šipčić, President of the Profession Chamber of Electrical Engineers, PCEM said that the Days of Electrical Engineers had being organized for the seventh year with an increasing number of visitors and the companies expressing interest in appearing at this conference.
It was this event that did stand out as one of the most significant ones in the organization of CEM and which CEM has gained recognition for in recent years. We have tried to select the best scientific papers for presentation during these two days", stated Šipčić.
She believes that panels on the topics of green transition, development of broadband access, and artificial intelligence will get the most attention.
Marina Izgarević-Pavićević, the Representative of the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism said that we were facing significant economic changes and that we had to adapt to the current labour market and new conditions.
Saša Mujović, the Dean of the Electrical Engineering Faculty of the University of Montenegro, said that the Days of Electrical Engineers were becoming a tradition, stating that it was even more important that they were becoming a necessity and herald of that association.
"We have an event that is a cohesive drive of all the engineering forces of Montenegro, and it is up to us to transform that force into energy and a clear and serious message to be conveyed. "I believe that the time has come to "take off the gloves" and to clearly and loudly demand adequate treatment of the energy sector," said Mujović.
Željko Maraš, President of the Organizing Committee of the Professional Meeting 7th DAYS OF ELECTRICAL ENGINEERS IKCG pointed out that the goal set at the beginning of the organization of the event was met and even surpassed, stating that the meeting had grown over the course of seven years into one of the most important electrical engineering conference in Montenegro.
"At the Days, we seek to address not only important topics and trends in the electrical industry but also socially relevant issues and dilemmas. We will witness that this year as well because, in addition to the professional papers and sponsor presentations, we will also attend discussions on the green transition, broadband access, and artificial intelligence during three panels," said Maraš.
In the panel "Green transition - past experiences and implementation issues", Ivan Asanović, Executive Director of CGES said that today Europe was going through an intensive and unstoppable process of green transition, pointing out to a difficult fight for a more ecological environment.
"CGES has the privilege, as a member of the European Association of Transmission Operators, to monitor how modern transmission operators handle this and how they go through the green transition. We should improve several aspects of the electricity transmission operation and the system. We consider these three as the most important: accelerating investments, improving the adequacy of the system, as well as improving system management and maintaining reliability," Asanović stated.
He said that CGES did not have large consumers and no major challenges in that regard.
"We were well aware of which energy sources we needed to build, but these were not built and that disrupted our plans and business. Now we have found ourselves in the situation of having numerous registered electricity sources " said Asanović.
Merisa Zoronjić, the representative of the Ministry of Capital Investments, while speaking about the international obligations assumed by Montenegro, concerning the green transition, said that the goal was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 55 percent by 2030 compared to the level reached in 1990.
Marina Izgarević-Pavićević, the representative of the Ministry of Ecology, Spatial Planning and Urbanism said that it was the Law on Spatial Planning and Construction of Structures that provided codification of regulations in the field of spatial planning
"When drafting planning documentation, we are obliged by the Law to obtain opinions from all competent institutions as input for content planning. This Law envisaged the preparation of two planning documents - the Spatial Plan of Montenegro and the General Regulation Plan", reminded Izgarević-Pavićević.
Boris Ostojić, CEDIS representative said that successful implementation of energy transition was possible only in the conditions of a high degree of digitalization and automation of the distribution system. "We need to start from the basics and collect static data. The next step is the numerous database integrations and networking facilitating such mutual data exchange. The next step is remote monitoring and control. We have started all three segments. The degree is rather low, but at least we moved away from zero," said Ostojić. He also pointed out huge ambitions for building distributed energy sources.
Ivan Mrvaljević, EPCG representative said that the Company firmly stood by TPP "Pljevlja".
"The last two, three years have proven to us how important it is for the power system of Montenegro." EPCG will do everything to ensure that the energy transition is fair and sustainable and that no one is left out of the process," said Mrvaljević.