EPCG, Montenegro’s power utility, signed a memorandum of understanding with Japan’s PowerX targeting about 500 MWh of battery energy storage over an initial three-year period. The strongest case for storage is to coordinate it with EPCG’s hydro resources, expanding solar output and cross-border trading, rather than operate batteries as standalone arbitrage assets. The targeted volume is material for Montenegro’s relatively small power system.
Montenegro’s 2026 energy balance envisaged roughly 198 GWh of solar generation, while solar capacity was expected to reach around 215 MW as prosumer and utility projects expand. Battery storage could help EPCG manage the resulting mix of weather-dependent solar generation and hydro inflows, including by reducing portfolio imbalances.
Reservoir hydro and batteries provide different forms of flexibility. Hydro can shift large volumes of energy over longer periods, but its operation is constrained by hydrology and water management. Batteries can respond within seconds, absorb short-term solar surpluses and support intraday trading without changing water releases. Coordinating the two could preserve reservoir value for periods when hydro’s longer-duration flexibility is more valuable.
Cross-border trading adds another potential use. Montenegro’s power system is connected to Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and the Italy link. Those connections create opportunities for a battery to charge when domestic power is in surplus or imported power is cheap, then discharge into domestic demand or regional scarcity.
The commercial model should assess storage through its incremental contribution to EPCG’s wider portfolio of hydro, solar, imports, exports and balancing, rather than as an isolated profit centre. That system-level value could support a stronger investment case than day-ahead arbitrage alone. The memorandum sets a target over an initial three-year period; the facts provided do not specify further project or investment terms.
