TIRANA, December 31/ATA/ Deputy Prime Minister, at the same time Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku, together with the administrators of Transmission System Operator OST and Energy Distribution Company OSSH announced today the plan of measures for the management of the energy situation during these festive days.
Balluku emphasized the readiness for today, while she said that the production should be at the maximum due to the demand that is expected to reach 25-26 thousand megawatts for today.
“We managed to produce 29,000 megawatts in the Drin cascade last week, breaking a record,” she said.
Balluku emphasized that, “The target is to have zero break downs, however we are also prepared for the unexpected as the network reaches maximum capacity”.
“But of course, the timely response of the teams on the ground, which must solve every problem in time, is important. Today is test day. Today, the equipment, technology and ready teams that are on the ground are put to the test. We test the technical and human capacities”, said Balluku.
She emphasized that despite having been under an extraordinary energy crisis for a year, the Albanian government has injected about 240 million into the energy sector to buy energy and not affect family members, raising prices again.
“A number of investments have been made to improve the distribution network. During this year, being able to do more with work than with investments, we have reduced technical losses by 1%, from 20.7% in 2021. This year will close with 19.7% technical losses, but our main goal to reach 16% of these technical losses “, she said.
Balluku was optimistic that 2023 will be a better year for energy than 2022.
“The facts show that it will be somewhat better since we entered with an energy reserve of 1200 gigawatts, while last year we entered with an energy reserve of only 800 gigawatts in January. So, we hope that the rains will start after January 8 and the Drin cascade will maintain its levels at 292 meters in the Fierza lake, creating a constant energy reserve”, said Balluku.
On the other hand, she emphasized that the citizens have responded to energy efficiency efforts.
“We have set a 15% target for all institutions and the administration has reduced consumption by 20% on average. Citizens have also reacted very well. This has been the key to success during our difficult period. Today we have a record production in the Drin cascade. This production is used to meet all the energy demand of the country. We have also deposited in KEK Kosova, in a relationship that we exchange energy and have exported at optimal market prices, creating a financial optimization for KESH”, she said. /p.s./
