In his remarks at “Albania, A New Frontier” conference in Vienna, Rama highlighted improvements in the electricity distribution company, which previously struggled with a debt of 1.2 billion lek and an uneven billing system.

“About half of consumers were not paying for electricity, forcing the other half to shoulder higher costs,” he said.

Today, Albania benefits from new energy sources, with over 10% of electricity generated from solar power – a figure the government aims to increase to 30%.

“Our goal is to achieve energy sovereignty by 2030, producing all necessary energy domestically throughout the year without imports,” Rama said.

He also pointed to investments in solar and wind energy, along with new technologies related to the hydroelectric system and pumping stations.

“We are investing in solar and wind energy, as well as innovative technologies including stations integrated into the hydroelectric system’s water recycling pumps. This will enable us to reuse the same water and practically increase production capacity by up to 800 MW – a possibility unimaginable just a few years ago,” Rama said.

The government head added that the energy situation will further improve thanks to recent agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Italy on subsea cable connections linking Albania to the European grid.

These agreements also include new investments in renewable energy that will expand existing capacity and enable electricity exports to the European Union.

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Responding to a comment by a social media user, who said that there is more room for lower electricity prices for consumers, since Albania generate its needed energy, the government head  said the claim was “a media legend and speculation,” since the country currently meets only 75% of its needs.

“Albania generates only 75% of its electricity in a year with abundant rain and only 65% during dry seasons,” PM Rama said, adding that the country will generate enough energy to fully meet its demand by 2030.

“Albania will become a fully energy independent country by 2030, when we deliver on all the planned investment projects, including solar and wind power projects, as well as two innovative pumping models on the cascade of Drin and Devoll rivers, where we are working with our Norwegian partners,” Rama said.

The government head noted that the yesterday’s decision by the Energy Regulator to cut the electricity price by 10.5% for household consumers was a milestone decision, because it is the first time in 35 years that energy tariffs are reduced.

Rama underlined that Albania currently generates around 10% of its electricity from the renewable resources, including the solar power, and the government aims to increase it to 30% by 2030.

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“In terms of national security, Albania would become stronger, more strategic and capable of defending its territorial integrity if we succeed in generating electricity to meet the domestic demand and export it to other countries,” Defence Minister said in his remarks at parliament session, underlining the importance of bill on ratification of the loan agreement with KFW Frankfurt am Main (KfW) on rehabilitation of Fierza hydro power plant.

According to him, power sector represents a critical infrastructure of the country’s security and defence as part of the national security policy.

“With the world peace shattered due to the Russian aggression on Ukraine, we need to realize that the shock was not only a military, but also an economic one. Russia is a major supplier to Europe and EU relies on Russia for almost 50% of gas and oil imports. Dependency on Russian fuel is significantly great and it is an issue that need to be tackled,” he said.

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