Power outages are occurring due to network overload due to increased consumption, and not due to a lack of energy, said the chief executive of the System, Transmission and Market Operator (KOSTT), Evetar Zeqiri.
He made this statement after the meeting that the Minister of Economy, Artane Rizvanolli held with KOSTT and the Kosovar Company for Energy Distribution (KEDS).
"There is no shortage of electricity. We are producing a maximum of four blocks. KESCO is importing the missing energy. It is not a question of lack of energy, but it is a question of load that has touched the borders", said Zeqiri.
"The problem is temporary, only this week and next week and after that it is expected that the capacities will be released, the load will decrease and there will be no obstacles", he added.
In recent days, citizens in different parts of Kosovo have complained about power outages. The institutions of Kosovo, meanwhile, have called on them to save energy due to network overload.
Meanwhile, the director of System Operation at KEDS, Bujar Jupaj, told the media that in the November-December period there was a 30 percent increase in load, arguing that "there is an increase in unforeseen demand".
He said that KEDS will engage 1,000 additional workers to intervene in cases of network overload.
"KEDS has about 730 thousand customers and from the data we have, over 95 percent of customers are supplied at the same time. We are talking about a 5 percent which have a problem as a result of overloading", he said, adding that the peak load of the network was reached last week with 2,500 megawatts spent.
Radio Free Europe has reported that the lack of electricity is causing problems for businesses. Meanwhile, civil society representatives have said that the institutions were unprepared for the winter season and the measures taken in recent years, such as subsidizing efficient heating equipment, have led to an increase in consumption.
"Subsidizing efficient electrical equipment has resulted in many consumers changing their heating methods, switching to electric heating, either through investments in air conditioning or heat pumps. This has increased the demand for energy in the system, because citizens have switched from heating with traditional fuels to heating with electricity", said Dardan Abazi from the Institute for Development Policy (INDEP).
However, Minister Rizvanolli does not think so. She described as "incorrect" the connection of the issue of subsidizing equipment with the increase in network load.
"Of course, when the subsidy schemes were designed, every detail was considered. Therefore, it has been the condition that you cannot benefit from efficient heating devices that heat with electricity, unless you are a consumer who heats with electricity with inefficient devices and you have no other option", said Rizvanolli.
According to her, from the data of previous years, the beneficiaries of subsidies for efficient electric heating devices have consumed less electricity.
However, she added that the number of consumers has increased in the network in the last three years, respectively, according to her, there are 60,000 new households connected to the network and 8,500 businesses.
The Ministry of Economy of the Government of Kosovo, since 2022, has several times allocated subsidies to citizens who purchase efficient heating equipment, including heat pumps, efficient air conditioners/air conditioners, as well as biomass boilers (wood, pellets, briquettes) and stoves individual with biomass. The last call was made in September of this year.
In January of this year, she announced that over the past two years, payments have been made to over 15,000 families, in a value of around seven million euros.
Kosovo currently produces electricity in two thermal power plants, Kosovo A and B, which operate with coal. But the state also imports electricity in order to meet the growing demands of consumers. /REL (A2 Televizion)
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