TIRANA, 16 – Heavy rainfall in the first two months of this year has considerably improved hydro-dependent domestic electricity generation, allowing state-run power utility, KESH, to resume electricity exports after a critical situation in late 2015 due to prolonged drought.
KESH reports water levels in the three state-run hydropower plants in the northern Drin Cascade are almost at their peak rate, meeting domestic consumption needs and allowing the corporation to resume electricity exports and collect €1.4 million from electricity sales in three auctions held this month.
Water levels in the country’s biggest Fierza HPP increased to about 291 meters last weekend, only 5 meters below its peak level, compared to 270 meters late last December when electricity production from this HPP was halted to preserve water levels from dropping to stoppage point.
While several areas in central and southern Albania have been flooded this year causing huge material and agriculture damage, the northern Albanian areas have escaped flooding only due to low levels of water in the local hydropower plants, keeping the water gates closed to accumulate water reserves.
The critical situation in the country’s hydropower plants due to prolonged lack of rainfall forced the Albanian government to make a third review to the 2015 budget in late Dec. 2015 by awarding a 1 billion lek (€7.1 million) fund on energy imports. The fund was awarded as loan transfer to state-run power corporation, increasing state-lending to the energy sector to 2 billion lek (14.3 mln). The decision made on Dec. 28 came few days after the 2015 budget was revised downward for a second time in mid-December following underperforming revenue even after a previous mid-year budget cut and a nationwide campaign against informality.
Power utility KESH purchased electricity worth €5.1 million at an average of 60 Euro/MWh for the first two weeks of this year, but postponed the contracted purchases for later, following heavy rainfall.
A nationwide campaign to curb massive electricity thefts and collect accumulated unpaid bills since late 2014 has lifted the Albanian electricity sector out of financial collapse after a failed privatization of the power distribution operator by Czech Republic CEZ. The company is now back under state administration and has turned profitable due to collecting huge amounts of accumulated unpaid bills, a situation which continues and has also affected sluggish domestic consumption.
