TIRANA, Sep. 20 – In fiscal years 2009-10, $387,000 was provided by the Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP) and the Trust Fund for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (TFESSD), the World Bank said in a statement. Approximately half of the co-funding was devoted to the Albania assessment.
The Climate Change-Energy Vulnerability Assessment was conducted with a broad base of stakeholders engaged in energy and climate change issues including representatives from government ministries and agencies, the private sector, academia and non-governmental organizations, and other donors and international financing institutions.
The IBRD-financed Climate Change – Energy Vulnerability Assessment in Albania helped the government and other energy sector stakeholders to identify key direct risks to energy supply and demand arising from projected climate change and prioritize actions that could be completed now to support optimal use of water resources and operation of hydropower plants, including the areas that need a more detailed subsequent analysis. This assessment can help to manage climate variability more effectively and build the country’s future resilience to climate change.
The Climate Change – Energy Vulnerability Assessment screened the energy sector in Albania to identify and prioritize hazards and vulnerabilities to projected climate scenarios for the period 2030-50. It identified options for adaptation to reduce overall vulnerability and their costs and benefits. A bottom-up consultative process was used to support stakeholders in identifying and prioritizing adaptation options for vulnerable and at-risk energy infrastructure along the entire energy supply-use chain. The project drew upon the approach developed by the Australian Commonwealth Scientific and Research Organization (CSIRO) for the Australian Greenhouse Office – Climate Change Impacts and Risk Management: A Guide for Government and Business – similar work conducted worldwide (e.g. United Kingdom Climate Impacts Programme, UKCIP), and work in Albania in support of National Communications to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
In Albania, the World Bank team worked with the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Environment, Forestry and Water Administration, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Consumer Protection, Institute of Energy, Water and Environment, Albanian Power Cooperation, Transmission System Operator, the Albanian Energy Regulatory Authority, the National Agency of Natural Resources, the Association of Small Hydropower Developers, the Tirana Polytechnic University, and the Faculty of Geology and Mining.
The project identified a number of actions that Albania can take to build its resilience to climate change including the improvement of the way that institutions monitor, forecast, and disseminate information on meteorological and hydro-meteorological conditions. Albania could develop (in-country) or obtain (from elsewhere) weather and climate forecasts appropriate for energy sector planning. This information could support energy sector stakeholders to undertake joint climate risk assessments across shared water resources and regional energy networks.
The project also suggests improving energy efficiency by encouraging and helping end users to manage their demand for power. The large technical and commercial losses in the distribution system could be reduced and demand-side management could be improved through, for example, the improved bill collection and establishment of cost-recovery tariffs (amending energy subsidies that are distorting market signals.)
The project also ensures that the management and development of water resources integrates all sectorsإnergy, agriculture, water supply and sanitation, and cross-border concernsءlong with environmental and social concerns.
Challenge
Albania’s water resources are a national asset. The River Drin provides about 90% of Albania’s domestic electricity to local industry and households. However, high dependence on hydropower brings challenges: electricity production can vary from almost 6,000 Gigawatt Hour (GWh) to less than half that amount in very dry years. Climate change may likely make matters worse and by 2050, annual average electricity output from Albania’s large hydropower plants could be reduced by about 15% and from small hydropower plants by around 20%.
