Austrian Power Facility to become potential investor in Albanian energy field

TIRANA, Jan.19 – Last week Economy Ministry spokeswoman, Iva Tico, announced that Austrian power utility EVN has expressed its actual interest in investing in energy projects in Albania. More concretely, “EVN has shown interest in building a cascade of small power units over the Devoll river with a combined capacity of 300 megawatts,” Tico added. The river runs through the country’s southeastern part where there are not plenty of hydro resources. This is part of a major project agreed by three sides: the Albanian Economy ministry, EVN and the state of Lower Austria, the major shareholder of EVN with 51% of the utility’s shares. The project envisages cooperation in economic relations, especially in the fields of electricity, exploration and distribution of natural gas, and alternative energies, like biomass, wind power and solar energy and energy efficiency. This years crisis has been a result of the combined effects of extreme drought, lack of proper investment and poor management by the power utility KESH. Local media report that the power cuts were longer than the official timetables of KESH, reaching 12 hours in cities and up to 20 hours in the most remote areas. Albania has an excessive dependency on hydropower plants which are accountable for more than 90 percent of its electricity. These power plans are outdated as is the distribution system which causes repeated problems. The worst power cuts are experienced in the rural areas but this year multiple problems have hit even the country’s capital city, Tirana.