CGES BIH-MNE-ALB 220kv OHL reconductoring (EBRD-56649)

Regions
  • Europe and Central Asia
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Countries
  • Montenegro
Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.
Specific Location
Trebinje (BIH); Peruiica (MNE); Podgorica (MNE); Vau i Dejes (ALB)
Whenever identified, the area within countries where the impacts of the investment may be experienced. Exact locations of projects may not be identified fully or at all in project documents. Please review updated project documents and community-led assessments.
Financial Institutions
  • European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)
International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.
Project Status
Proposed
Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.
Bank Risk Rating
B
Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."
Voting Date
Dec 17, 2025
Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.
Borrower
Crnogorski Elektroprenosni Sistem AD
A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.
Sectors
  • Energy
  • Hydropower
  • Infrastructure
The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.
Investment Type(s)
Loan
The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.
Investment Amount (USD)
$ 17.62 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 15
Converted using 2025-09-19 exchange rate.
Loan Amount (USD)
$ 17.62 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 15
Converted using 2025-09-19 exchange rate.
Project Cost (USD)
$ 19.97 million
Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 17
Converted using 2025-09-19 exchange rate.
Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Oct 21, 2025

Disclosed by Bank Sep 19, 2025

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Project Description
If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

According to the information provided on the project disclosure page, the EBRD is considering providing a sovereign-guaranteed loan of up to EUR15 million to Crnogorski Elektroprenosni Sistem AD ("CGES"). The proceeds of the EBRD financing will be used to support the upgrade of the Trebinje (BIH) - Peruiica (MNE) - Podgorica (MNE) - Vau i Dejes (ALB) power transmission corridor, increasing its capacity from approximately 300 MW to 600 MW. The upgrade will primarily involve replacing existing conductors with High Temperature Low Sag (HTLS) conductors along the 220 kV overhead transmission line that runs through Montenegro, from the border with Bosnia and Herzegovina, through key substations at the Peruiica hydropower plant and the main Podgorica substation, to the border with Albania.

The Project will strengthen regional energy connectivity and grid resilience across the Western Balkans aimed at doubling its transmission capacity from 300 MW to 600 MW. This upgrade will be instrumental in facilitating the integration of a substantial portfolio of Renewable Energy (RE) power plants into the regional grid. The realization of this project is projected to significantly reduce energy losses.

The Project holds significant importance in ensuring the continued stable and safe operations of the transmission system of Montenegro. The Project targets the "Resilient" Transition Impact quality as it includes a dedicated Technical Cooperation (TC) supporting the Company's governance with a TC for the assessment of CGES' readiness to establish regional available transfer capacity market coupling (i.e. allocation of cross-border capacity) in support of RES penetration and regional trading and in line with the country's EU approximation process. The second quality is "Green" as the Project implementation will allow the connection of new renewable energy sources, and will lead to a reduction of transmission losses, thereby reducing CO2 emissions.

Technical cooperation funds have been provided for environmental and social due diligence.

Additionally, it is envisaged that further technical cooperation support will be provided to assist the Company with the diagnostic of the CGES' readiness in the set-up of a regional Day-Ahead Market Coupling in Available Transfer Capacity mode (i.e. allocation of cross-border capacity) in support of RES penetration and regional trading and in line with the country's EU approximation process.

Investment Description
Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.
Private Actors Description
A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the EBRD, CGES is the Montenegrin transmission system operator, responsible for the ownership and operation of substations and transmission lines across 400kV, 220kV, and 110kV voltage level. The Company manages a transmission network consisting of 59 lines with a total length of approximately 1,512 km. Total transformation capacity comprises 4,166 MVA (with a total of 55 transformer units). CGES plays a vital role in regional energy integration, with interconnections to neighbouring power systems in Serbia, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania, and Italy, via a strategic undersea cable, strengthening Montenegro's position within the broader European electricity market.

Private Actor 1 Private Actor 1 Role Private Actor 1 Sector Relation Private Actor 2 Private Actor 2 Role Private Actor 2 Sector
- - - - Crnogorski Elektroprenosni Sistem AD Client Energy

Contact Information
This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Client - Crnogorski Elektroprenosni Sistem AD:

Dragan Perunovic
Email: dragan.perunovic@cges.me 
Phone: +382 20 407 646
Website: www.cges.me 
Address: 18 Bulevar Svetog Petra Cetinjskog, Podgorica 81000, Montenegro

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html

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