Albania power distribution to get SCADA upgrade

TIRANA, Nov 10 – Czech power utility CEZ won an international tender with the Albanian distribution company Operatori i Sistemit te Shperndarjes (OSSH sh.a.) to purchase 76 per cent of its shares with its bid of 102 million Euros.
Further, CEZ is now talking with the Tirana government about negotiating a sales contract to finalize the privatization contract. Officials in Tirana have said the Czech company will need to take over the OSSH debt due to the non-payment from consumers.
That purchase will help CEZ to become a leading player in the south-east European electricity market. It has already bought energy firms in Bulgaria, Poland and Romania and holds a seven per cent stake in MOL of Hungary.
OSSH currently distributes electricity to nearly one million customers in Albania and its gross annual electricity supply amounts to 5.3 TWh.
If CEZ’s bid is approved by the government, it is likely that the company will have to make significant investments to improve the performance of the grid and to help meet rapidly rising electricity demands.
According to CEZ, there has been little investment in the Albanian power system in recent decades and the country relies heavily on imports of power from Greece and other countries. Per capita electricity consumption is less than one-third of that in the Czech Republic and less than a quarter of power used in Western European countries.
ABB recently won a contract with the operator of Albania’s electricity transmission network to install a monitoring and control system that will improve grid reliability. Under the $20 million contract, ABB will deliver a Network Manager Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition/Energy Management System (SCADA/EMS) system that enhances the stability of the grid by making it easier to preserve the balance between power generation and consumption.
The project will also align Albania’s network with European standards and facilitate power trading with nearby countries. It is scheduled to be complete within three years.
The SCADA/EMS system will also enable the transmission system operator to regulate the network from a single control room in Tirana. ABB will supply the communication system to collect and distribute data from more than 50 power plants and substations using about 400 km of high-capacity optical fiber.
Electricity consumption in Albania is expected to grow by about five per cent per year.