Verbund incorporates project company “Energji Ashta Shpk”

TIRANA, Feb 23 – Verbund, Austria’s leading electricity company and among Europe’s top electricity utilities, announced the incorporation of the project company “ENERGJI ASHTA SHPK”, which is the responsible company for planning, construction and operation of the hydroelectric power plant (HPP) Ashta near Shkoder.
In September 2008 Verbund obtained the concession for construction and operation for 35 years of HPP Ashta. The project will have considerable positive influence on the current energy situation in Albania. In operation, Ashta will be able to supply more than 100,000 households with environment-friendly energy.
The Ashta HPP is the last plant in the Drin river cascade and is situated downstream of the storage power station of Vau I Dej쳮 Currently, the majority of water flows over the existing Spathara weir back into the Drin River without using its energy. The HPP Ashta will convert this energy into electric power using the innovative StrafloMatrix TM technology with two sets of 45 turbine units. The annual production capacity will be 230 GWh.
Ashta HPP is also expected to give a positive impulse to the region and the country, while at the same time improving the security supply of the Albanian electricity system and reducing the dependency from energy imports – all this with low impact on the environment.