Skopje, 17 October 2022 (MIA) – The Government is mulling the option of Power Plants of North Macedonia Sales (ESM Sales) supplying electricity to schools, health institutions and food industry companies. The decision will be taken on the basis of consumption and the possibilities for ESM’s increased production. Government sources say there are two options – ESM Sales or regulated market. The option to put these consumers on the regulated market is less acceptable because this would result in higher electricity prices for households. They add that if these companies are placed on the regulated market, then there is no the regulated market has no purpose and citizens will have to pay the price for all these companies. ESM says all capacities at disposal are operational, except for Bloc 3 of mining-power complex (REK) Bitola. A transformer is set to arrive from Turkey on October 26. According to authorities, the country has sufficient coal quantities, and coal would be available for about 20-30 days in case coal mines don’t deliver coal. “The daily consumption in REK Bitola is 12,000-13,000 tonnes of coal and the daily consumption in thermal plant Oslomej is about 3,000 tonnes. The daily extraction in REK Bitola is 20,000 tonnes, with further 2,800 tonnes of coal delivered from Greece and Albania. In case of cataclysm and no capacities are operational, then we can function for 20-30 days without any coal deliveries,” they say. The Government is adamant that power restrictions are not an option.