TIRANA, Aug.3 – The energy crisis will continue to deteriorate, said Economy minister Genc Ruli, trying to prepare Albanians for a worsening power situation with the advent of the cold season. The lack of rainfall has diminished the level of the hydropower reserves, making the main river in the north which feds three main power stations “look like Lana,” in the words of the Minister. The incoming water at the reserves are as low as ten cubic meters per second, eight times lower than the average of the last 60 years. KESH has imported 1.4 billion kilo-watts of energy, a record amount that cannot be continued indefinitely.
Ruli said that this crisis has little hope to be resolved with local production at low levels and importing capacities being limited. He also said that the government should not be blamed, as it is facing the “forces of nature” and cannot overcome them.
Power cuts have paralyzed work in many institutions and the state administration has declared various working hours closing up as early as 1 pm .
Focusing on measures to solve this problem in the long run, the minister said that investment in the field has slacked throughout the post communist governments. Right now the government is trying to offer concession to the private sector to build small hydro and thermo power plants to satisfy demands for localities and, up to now, 28 licenses have been approved. The power cuts will be felt more heavily in the winter when there are fewer hours of sunlight.
Heat, water and other problems
Increased energy use, with air conditioners running during the recent heat wave, has contributed to the ongoing power shortage. As in neighboring southern European countries, temperatures in Albania have been sweltering. Authorities were also struggling to battle wildfires that have cropped up throughout the parched country, but a lack of equipment has made fighting fires in mountain areas difficult. The government is receiving assistance with firefighting helicopters and planes from other European countries. Meanwhile, Albania has had to ration water, with taps running only 1-2 hours a day. Importing electricity has also been problematic, as has domestic production at hydropower stations, with no rainfall for the past 40 days. Albania imports 5 million to 6 million kilowatt hours per day, and produces another 5-6 million – a level that has resulted in shutdowns of up to 15 hours daily.
