KESH makes first electricity purchase for 2011

TIRANA, April 19 – Albania’s Power Corporation, KESH, says it has secured electricity worth 3.35 million euros from imports for April 2011, registering the first purchase procedure for this year.
In a statement, the state owned electricity producer said it secured the needed electricity in two tender procedures from Gen-I Tirana sh.p.k, Rudnap a.d, GSA sh.p.k and CEZ Trade Albania sh.p.k
“The situation appears somewhat critical. Since the end last December, no rainfalls have been reported in northern Albania where the Fierza reservoir lies. The lake’s water level has fallen to 276 metres above the sea level from 287 metres in December,” KESH director Engjell Zeqo told reporters this week.
Electricity imports in 2010 dropped by 48.9 percent constituting only 11.5 percent of total energy resources. INSTAT data show that net exports in 2010 more than trebled increasing to 1.73 million MWh, up from only 486,418 MWh in 2009.
The favourable hydro-situation in the country’s hydropower plants (HPPs) secured the Albanian Power Corporation (KESH) a record 120 million euros in profits from electricity exports in 2010.
According to Engjell Zeqo, the boom of exports allowed KESH to pay off the majority of its accumulated debts, considerably improving the financial situation of the company in charge of electricity production from hydropower plants HPPs which accounts for more than 95 percent of domestically produced power. Despite managing to pay off 110 million euros, KESH still has 65 million euros in debts for electricity imports during 2007 and 2008.
KESH’s revenues in 2010 reached 27 billion lek (200 million euros). The record level of electricity exports were one of the main contributors to the country’s total exports which rose by 63 percent year-on-year during the January-August period.
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.
A recent decision by the Energy Regulatory Agency (ERE) obliges state owned electricity producer KESH to sell energy to private distribution operator CEZ at 1.48 lek kWh starting from next January, down from 2.03 lek currently, considerably increasing the Czech company’s revenues which had desperately demanded price increase to handle rising costs and new grid investments.