Power generated from the 58 HPPs managed by 26 concession companies dropped by 14 percent to 136.8 GWh because of unfavourable hydro situation
TIRANA, April 10 – Although having signed more than 200 concession contracts in the past few years, 2011 proved a bad year for private and concession hydropower plants which suffered lower production because of low rainfall.
An annual report published by the country’s Energy Regulatory Entity (ERE) shows six new HPPs, with installed capacity of 17.25 MW were made operational in 2011. ERE data show power generated from the 58 HPPs managed by 26 concession companies dropped by 14 percent to 136.8 GWh because of the unfavourable hydro situation, accounting for only 2 percent of total domestic production.
The companies’ revenues also dropped by 10 percent to 1 billion lek (Euro 7 million).
Promoting hydro-electricity produced by concession HPPs with a capacity of up to 15 MW, government has authorized state-owned power utility KESH to buy all electricity generated by them under a formula based on average import prices and a bonus of 10 percent. Based on this formula, power prices generated from new HPPs has risen to 9.3 lek/kWh for 2012, up 35 percent compared to 2011 on higher prices of electricity in international markets.
The Energy Regulatory Entity suggests the need to unify electricity prices for HPPs with a capacity of up to 15 MW for a ten year period considering the fluctuation of prices for new private and concession HPPs operational after 2007.
Government has often warned companies which have been granted concession contracts to build small and medium-sized hydropower plants they must respect their contracts. “There should be a mechanism preventing their return to the race for a second time. They had a chance and missed it and do not deserve a second chance,” said Berisha of the companies involved in the construction of hydropower plants.
Last year, the Economy Ministry identified 10 to 15 flagrant cases of violations in concessionary contracts, mentioning cases of companies which have been granted concessions since 2007 but have not even registered with the National Licensing Center yet.
Government says it remains determined to make every effort encouraging the construction of 443 hydropower plants in this country. To date, it has signed concession contracts for the construction of 220 HPPs during the past three years, 36 of which are under construction.
The opposition Socialist Party described the latest boom in concession contracts as the clearest example of the misuse of public-private partnership. While legal deadline for the start of construction works have expired only 10 percent of HPPs are currently under concession, says the opposition.
Latest data published by the country’s state Institute of Statistics, INSTAT, show domestic power generation in 2011 dropped by 47.4 percent to 4,057 GWh while net imports rose to around 1.5 million MWh, from zero back in 2010 due to prolonged drought.
Albania’s net power exports in 2011 also considerably dropped by 7.5 times to only 232,128 MWh, further deteriorating the finances of Albania’s state-owned power corporation KESH, which in late 2011 and early 2012 was given financial assistance by government to secure electricity imports.
