Three subsidiaries of Elektroprivreda Srbije (EPS) – Serbia’s state-owned power company – registered with headquarters in Kosovo, have accumulated debts exceeding half a billion euros.
Kosovo’s Thermal Power Plants, Kosovo Surface Mines, and Elektrokosmet are listed among the 100 biggest loss-making companies in Serbia, according to financial reports published in the country’s Economic Registry and analyzed by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL).

These companies, registered with fictional addresses in Kosovo, continue to exist even 25 years after Serbia lost control over Kosovo’s assets and energy system management.
Electricity production and distribution in Kosovo are now entirely under Kosovo-licensed companies, while these three Serbian enterprises, with over 3,100 employees, operate from Belgrade.

Data from Serbia’s Business Registers Agency (APR) show that they continue to accumulate debt, with total deficits exceeding 580 million euros.

What do they actually do, given that they do not operate in Kosovo?

For official Pristina, these companies do not exist, as they are not recognized under Kosovo’s legal framework.
But official Belgrade, which rejects Kosovo’s independence, continues to consider itself the owner of Kosovo’s energy infrastructure.

Property disputes and other issues affecting relations between Kosovo and Serbia are topics of the EU-mediated dialogue – a process that has been stalled for years, and the Energy Agreement remains only partially implemented.

Financial reports analyzed by RFE/RL show that these three companies – Kosovo Thermal Power Plants, Kosovo Surface Mines, and Elektrokosmet – actually provide auxiliary services for Serbia’s Elektroprivreda system.
Their employees carry out various support tasks within EPS: from repairs and maintenance of energy facilities to meter readings in Serbia.

The reports also state that these companies employ workers who were “expelled from their workplaces” after the 1999 war, while the firms themselves were “prevented” from operating in Kosovo’s energy system.

Despite their accumulated losses, these companies with fictional Kosovo headquarters continue to announce tenders and award contracts to various private and state-owned firms in Serbia.
In 2025 alone, they signed more than 80 contracts worth over 5 million euros, according to Serbia’s public procurement portal.

Purchases include cars, trucks, buses, fuel, machinery, tools, construction materials, mobile phones, and computer equipment.

EPS and its three Kosovo-registered subsidiaries did not respond to RFE/RL’s questions regarding their operations, spending, or justification for procuring goods and services despite not performing their core activity – electricity production and distribution.

In many procurement cases, contracts were awarded to companies without competition, as they were the only bidders.
“When there is no competition, suspicions of corruption arise,” says retired Belgrade University professor Petar Gjukić.

Serbia’s Government and Ministry of Energy also did not respond to inquiries about future plans for these subsidiaries.

The companies are fully financially dependent on EPS, which transfers funds for employee salaries and operational costs.
“They are not formally employed by EPS, yet they receive incomes from EPS,” Gjukić adds.

According to EPS’s 2024 financial report, more than 54.7 million euros were spent solely on the salaries of employees working in Kosovo-registered subsidiaries.
EPS also pays for auxiliary energy-system services performed by the three companies.

Serbia’s Fiscal Council describes these transfers as “pure expenditure.”
“These payments should be excluded from EPS’s balance sheet, as they do not represent expenses related to the company’s activities but rather a form of social assistance,” the Council noted in its 2022 report.

What do Kosovo Thermal Power Plants (not) do?

Kosovo Thermal Power Plants are registered in Serbia’s energy system as an electricity producer, even though they have no control over Kosovo’s power plants.
This company has over 770 employees, who, according to its financial reports, mainly work on repairs and maintenance across various EPS sectors.

The employee list includes 88 workers from Kosovo public enterprises established within Serbia’s parallel system, which Pristina considers illegal.

EPS is the sole financier of the company.
It paid 13.7 million euros for salaries and basic expenses, and an additional 2.5 million euros for services provided to Serbia’s energy system.

Despite this, the company has been operating at a loss for years.
By the end of 2024, its total losses exceeded 355 million euros, making it the tenth-biggest loss-making company in Serbia.

In 2025, it signed 50 contracts worth over 970,000 euros, purchasing equipment, tools, materials, maintenance services, and paying for employee training and medical checks.

The most valuable contract – over 180,000 euros – went to a private company responsible for supplying protective clothing and equipment. It was the only bidder.
Another contract was awarded to Telekom Serbia for mobile services, worth over 57,000 euros, again with no competition.

What do Kosovo Surface Mines (not) do?

Although registered as a lignite and coal extraction company, Kosovo Surface Mines have not operated in Kosovo for more than 25 years.
It currently employs more than 1,900 people.

Most of them, according to reports, perform services for EPS companies: repairing and maintaining thermal energy facilities and reading electricity meters.

In 2024, EPS transferred over 50 million euros to this company—41.7 million euros for wages and operating expenses, and 8.4 million euros for services performed.

Unlike the other subsidiaries, this company reported a positive result in 2024, with a profit of 1.4 million euros.
Still, accumulated losses from previous years place it among the top 50 loss-making firms in Serbia, with debts of over 111 million euros.

In 2025, the company signed at least 23 procurement contracts in Serbia, exceeding 3 million euros.
Purchases included construction materials, workwear, protective equipment, computers, and digital archiving systems.

The largest contract, worth more than 1.5 million euros, went to Serbia’s Oil Industry (NIS) for fuel procurement.
Again, NIS was the only bidder.

Although registered with a headquarters in Obiliq and listed as a coal-extraction operator, the company does not perform this activity.
Kosovo’s Energy Corporation (KEK) manages that territory.

What does Elektrokosmet (not) do?

“Reliable partner and support pillar for electricity supply and distribution in northern Kosovo” – this is how Elektrokosmet describes itself online.
In reality, it has not performed this function for years.

According to financial reports, Elektrokosmet supplied electricity to Kosovo’s Serb-majority northern municipalities until December 2020, despite being illegal under Kosovo law.

Supply and billing in the north have recently been taken over by Elektrosever, which is owned by EPS but registered under Kosovo’s legal system – a requirement of the Energy Agreement between Pristina and Belgrade.

In early 2024, Elektrosever began issuing electricity bills to consumers in four northern municipalities for the first time in 25 years.

Electrokosmet, however, continues to operate within Serbia’s system, employing 441 workers.
They are engaged in meter reading, inspecting measuring stations, operating EPS service counters, and performing other auxiliary tasks in Belgrade and Niš.

The company recorded a loss of 12.4 million euros in 2024, with total accumulated losses reaching 115.5 million euros.
Its financial reports justify these losses with “political reasons” and “high technical and commercial losses.”

Still, in 2025, Elektrokosmet awarded over 1 million euros in procurement contracts, including a two-year agreement with Serbia’s Oil Industry worth approximately 770,000 euros.
Again, NIS was the only competitor.

It also signed vehicle maintenance and servicing contracts worth around 350,000 euros—each awarded to single-bidder companies.

Branches registered in Kosovo (only on paper)

Elektrokosmet lists eight additional branches in Kosovo in Serbia’s Economic Registry.
These include Mitrovica, two in Prishtina, and one each in Gjakova, Prizren, Gjilan, Peja, and Ferizaj.

None of these branches actually exist.
Most state institutions operating in Serbia’s parallel system in Kosovo have long been shut down or relocated to Serbia.

Two other EPS companies – Kosovo Thermal Power Plants and Kosovo Surface Mines – are also registered with fictional addresses in Kosovo, including locations now operated by KEK.

Calls for reforming EPS

Despite being Serbia’s largest state-owned enterprise and generating hundreds of millions in revenue, EPS is also the country’s biggest loss-making company.

In 2024, EPS posted revenues exceeding 200 million euros, but accumulated losses from previous years reached 2.4 billion euros.

The IMF has called on Serbia’s government to reform EPS to reduce losses.
EPS claims reforms are underway, aimed at improving efficiency and transparency.

However, EPS has offered no explanation regarding the future or restructuring of its Kosovo-registered subsidiaries.