BEGOVIC ANNOUNCES HEP COULD TAKE SLOVENES TO COURT OVER KRSKO

( Editorial: --> 2622 ) ZAGREB, Aug 9 (Hina) - Croatian electricity distributor HEP will continue not to take energy supplies from the Krsko nuclear power plant despite Slovenia's reconnection of a second transmission line to Croatia. This was stated by HEP managing director Damir Begovic in an interview on Saturday night with Croatian Television's current affairs programme "Motrista". Begovic also announced the possibility of HEP taking Slovenia's electricity supplier ELES to court for disconnecting the lines running from the nuclear power plant, which is located in Slovene territory but owned by both countries. On Friday afternoon the Slovenian side reconnected a second transmission line to Croatia, explaining it as an act of "neighbourly help" in case of a need for additional electricity because of the fires in southern Croatia. "The truth is totally different," Begovic said, explaining that on Friday at 11.15am the Rijeka thermo-electric power plant was synchronised with the Croatian power system, while the second transmission line from Krsko was turned on at 1pm. "Thus, before the transmission line was reconnected we had restarted our basic facility, so the conditionally said 'help' was not needed at all," he explained. Begovic recalled that HEP would maintain its current stance and not take supplies from Krsko, even though it would allow its Slovene partners to evacuate energy from the nuclear power plant through the Croatian distribution network. ELES disconnected two transmission lines to Croatia from Krsko on July 30, following a dispute over the amount of HEP's debt to the nuclear power plant. This was the first time Slovenia had denied Croatia electricity since the Krsko facility was opened in 1981. Last Monday, August 3, one of the two 400kV transmission lines had been reconnected after Croatia made a payment of US$17.5 million for the liabilities in maintenance of the plant. (Hina) mbr/rml 091724 MET aug 98