04 Nov 14
Kosovo faces another difficult winter for energy following the June blast in a worn-out power plant, the power supply company, KEDS, has warned.
Pristina
Guri Shkodra, a spokesperson for the energy supply company, KEDS, said Kosovo is facing an energy crisis this winter as a result of June’s incident in the Kosovo A power plant.
“Imports have increased a lot while production has fallen significantly,” he said. “The price of imported energy is also two to three times higher than the energy produced in Kosovo’s own power plants,” Shkodra told Balkan Insight.
The explosion at the Kosova A power plant in June killed two persons, injured others and caused extensive damage.
The Energy Regulatory Office then decided to increase the energy price by 5 per cent following the blast in order to offset the damage caused by the explosion.
Over 30,000 people signed a petition opposing the rise in energy prices, while civic society groups warned of street protests.
The power supply situation further worsened on Monday as a result of an unexpected stoppage at one of the country’s energy production facilities. Parts of the capital, Pristina, and many other areas were left without electricity for several hours.
Warning that the situation over energy was becoming critical, KEDS has appealed to citizens to economize their use of energy.
Almost all power generated in Kosovo comes from two lignite coal-fired power plants, Kosovo A and Kosovo B, which have a net operating capacity of between 840 and 900 MW.
Kosovo has consistently had problems with energy, especially during winter, when most of the country has no electricity for several hours a day.
The Kosovo A plant is due to close in 2018 because its emissions are believed to pose a severe danger to health. However, few expect this to happen by the given deadline.
