TIRANA, Aug. 4 – Konfindustria, an association of businnesses in Albania, expressed opposition to a proposal to pay toll tickets for electricity to help during the country’s serious power crisis.
The association denied any of its business representatives had proposed the idea, which it considered as communist or belonging to the fallen communist regime.
The association also considered the idea an effort of the government to avoid the responsibility to its citizens and businesses for non-stop power supply, adding constant power outages were harming businesses.
The association said that because of the power crisis, prices in many improtant industries in the country had increased by more than ten percent and many businesses were on the brink of bankruptcy due to these price increases.
This was also reflected in the fact that the commercial deficit in the first quarter of this year increased 23 percent.
The industries mostly feeling the effect of the power crisis in the country include furniture, drinks, meat processing, beer, soft drinks and the service sector.
“Under the conditions when energy production and import are a factor that cannot be influenced or changed in short periods of time, the only way out of this crisis with the least possible consequence is the rational use of the resources we have at our disposal and obligatory cut of consumption,” said a statmenet.
Due to the lack of power production and lack of additional imported power, there are up to 15 hours of power cuts daily throughout the country.
The association also proposed a presidential roundtable with the main political parties to prevent exploiting the crisis for political gain.
