The good news about the first half of this year’s performance is that electricity losses dropped by 3.8 percent compared to the same period last year
TIRANA, Aug. 29 – Low rainfall has severely affected domestic electricity production during the first half of this year in Albania. Data published this week by the country’s Institute of Statistics (INSTAT) show domestically produced electricity dropped by 45.1 percent year-on-year during the first half of 2011. The situation was a result of the drop in hydro-electricity production which accounts for 96.1 of total domestic production.
Power generated from private small and medium-sized hydropower plants operated under concession contracts registered a slight 9.9 percent increase while no power was produced from the newly built Vlora thermal power plant, whose cost is estimated higher than imported electricity if operated on diesel and not natural gas.
Lower domestic production also increased the need for electricity imports which including exchanges rose by more than 8 times to 1.4 million MWh during the first half of this year.
The good news about the first half of this year’s performance is that electricity losses dropped by 3.8 percent compared to the same period last year. INSTAT data show electricity losses accounted for 31.3 percent of power available for use. Losses in the distribution system which is managed by Czech Republic owned CEZ Shperndarje account for 92.3 percent of total grid losses.
Electricity exports also dropped by almost four times during the first half of this year. INSTAT data show electricity exports including exchanges dropped by four times to 176,779 MWh.
Data also show power consumption rose by 8.7 percent during the first half of this year. However, household consumption was up only 0.3 percent compared to the same period last year.
Last year, total domestic production rose by 47.5 percent covering 88.5 percent of the country’s needs for electricity. The situation was a result of heavy rainfall during 2010 supplying the country’s hydropower plants which were the only source of energy production in 2010. A considerable 78 percent increase was also reported in the small hydropower plants operating under concession contracts which accounted for 2.1 percent of total domestically produced electricity.
Revenues of state owned Albanian Power Corporation, KESH, in 2010 reached 27 billion lek (around 200 million euros). The record level of electricity exports were one of the main contributors to the country’s total exports.
Heavy rains forced KESH to open the water discharge gates several times last year, causing huge flood damage to the Shkodra region, some areas of which were inundated five times during 2010.
Albania’s Power Corporation, KESH, says it secured electricity worth 3.35 million euros from imports for April 2011, registering the first purchase procedure for this year. KESH also published a bid invitation for electricity imports for May but has not published on its official website the winners of the tender and how much it spent yet.
Diostribution system operator CEZ Shperndarje has recently borrowed 100 million euros from the EBRD and the IFC to refurbish the distribution network and improve the quality of electricity supply.
CEZ says electricity losses in 2010 dropped to 30.4 percent, down from 33.92 percent in 2008 and 2009. Its bill collection rate also slightly improved to 78 percent compared to 76 percent in 2009.
CEZ took over the electricity distribution system in March 2009 when it signed a contract with the Albanian government after buying 76 percent of OSSH’s state-owned shares for 102 million Euros.
