The total amount of electricity produced by Albania annually doesn’t cover for its overall demand. However, based on the stats so far this year, local production has been going well and so have our sales and exports in the energy sector.
On the continental scale, Albania is ranked third amongst European countries, preceded by Norway and Iceland, in terms of the production of electric energy from renewable sources. Through our water supply, we are able to generate 92% of our electricity, despite the fact that throughout the year, we buy and sell electric energy from other countries, based on the prices determined by the Budapest stock exchange.
Nowadays, there’s been an ongoing debate over a possible global energy crisis, that’s slowly approaching us, due to external causes. But exactly how exposed are we to this oncoming crisis and how is energy managed in our country?
Each year, Albania consumes around 7.5 million MWh of energy, but our current capacities aren’t able to cover for this demand. The year 2018 made a definite exception, seeing that production was greater than usual due to heavy rainfall.
In order to cover the demand, KESH needs to buy energy from aborad, whereas the government needs to look for new energy sources. The natural gas pipeline company TAP, the Devoll Hydropower project and the plan to build a HEC (Hydro-electric power plant) in Skavica are expected to soon meet this demand.
So far, the first half of the year has been favorable in terms of energy production, which doubled compared to the previous year, whereas exports grew 4 times.
Faced with the current situation, the government is wary to the possibility that they won’t be able to secure the necessary amount of energy that would cover our electricity needs throughout winter, whereas local experts have accused PM Rama of fearmongering and speaking of a ‘fictive crisis’.
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