>Caroline Andr�ani a �crit : >> >> Serbia freezes as temperatures plunge to minus 20 >> By Gordana Filipovic >> BELGRADE, Jan 25, 2000 (Reuters) - Snow-bound Serbia introduced on >> Tuesday sporadic power cuts and urged the nation to cut energy consumption >> to avoid a collapse of its strained grid as outside temperatures sank to >> -20 degrees Celsius. >> The freezing spell came only two days after blizzards swept across >> the country blocking roads and cutting off many villages. >> Serbian capital Belgrade woke up at 18 degrees below zero, and >> second city Novi Sad in the north at -20, the National Weather Service >> said. >> Many Belgraders walked to their offices as the city transport, >> facing the snow amid fuel and spare part shortages provided barely 500 >> buses and trams, half of what the city needs. >> Freezing weather also hit adjoining Yugoslav republic Montenegro >> where temperatures stood at four below zero in Podgorica and minus three in >> Ulcinj, the southernmost point on the coast bordering Albania. >> The Novi Sad electricity distributor introduced two-hour power cuts >> on Tuesday. In Belgrade, the power company cautioned consumption was >> exceeding its capacity. >> ``The power system is strained, with most frequent failures in >> suburban areas,'' the >> company said. The capital alone consumed 32.6 million kilowatt hours (kWh) >> on Monday, while the rest of Serbia consumed 100 million kWh. >> ``Consumption substantially exceeds average daily production of >> 110-125 million kWh produced by hydroelectric and thermal power plants,'' >> Serbian power company Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) said. >> A third of Serbia's power grid, mainly transmission lines, was >> damaged or destroyed in NATO's three-month bombing campaign of Yugoslavia >> last year. >> State Tanjug news agency said EPS was spending $160,000 a day on >> energy imports from neighbouring grids. >> The oil company said disposable quantities of natural gas, the main >> source of heating in many towns, were too low to keep households warm and >> the food industry running. >> Yugoslavia, subject to an embargo by the European Union and United >> States which bans imports of crude and oil products, has had regular >> heating problems since the first cold >> arrived in November. Belgrade had hoped that Russia would provide enough >> gas to heat it through the winter, but Russian gas monopoly Gazprom has >> delivered barely half of Serbia's needs. >> SERBIA LACKS GAS >> ``There are no fuel reserves. We can only pray the skies have >> mercy on us,'' a senior official at Serbian oil company NIS, who asked not >> to be named, told Reuters. Serbia lacked on Tuesday some 100,000 cubic >> metres of natural gas per hour, the NIS source said. >> ``We currently feed the system with 370,000 cubic metres of gas. That is >> enough for the temperatures around zero,'' he said. ``On a day like this we >> need 470,000 cubic metres per hour.'' >> Low pressure in the pipeline of around 10 bars compared to 30 >> required, kept households cold with temperatures of below 15 degrees. The >> heating situation was critical in the central Serbian towns of Kragujevac >> and Kraljevo. The European Union has sent heating oil to two >> opposition-held Serbian towns, Nis and Pirot, under its Energy for >> Democracy programme. Some EU members want to extend the aid to towns which >> are not opposed to Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic, a view supported >> by opposition leaders. > > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >Cuba SI: http://www.egroups.com/group/cubasi/ >Imperialism NO! Venceramos! >Information and discussion about Cuba. >Discussion of the path of Ernesto Che Guevara. > >------------------------------------------------------------------------ >GET A NEXTCARD VISA, in 30 seconds! Get rates as low as 2.9% >Intro or 9.9% Fixed APR and no hidden fees. Apply NOW! >http://click.egroups.com/1/915/0/_/30563/_/949339637/ > >-- Talk to your group with your own voice! >-- http://www.egroups.com/VoiceChatPage?listName=cubasi&m=1 __________________________________ KOMINFORM P.O. Box 66 00841 Helsinki - Finland +358-40-7177941, fax +358-9-7591081 e-mail [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.kominf.pp.fi ___________________________________ [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe/unsubscribe messages mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________
