KESH: Winter plan on supply

The Albanian Electricity Corporation foresees that the completion of the energy supply in the country will be done through imports, if the weather conditions do not improve. In an interview for “Monitor” it is said that the basis for future expectations or forecasts is always the multi-year average and depending on the factors that appear, immediate measures are also taken.

In this first semester, KESH sh.a. managed the hydropower situation, meeting all the requests of OSHEE Grup and OST.

While in the second half of the year, the period July-September 2023, it is characterized by temperatures above the multi-year average (the month of July reached very high temperatures at the global level) as well as a lack of rainfall, thus bringing a decrease in flows in the lakes of the Drin cascade.

For this period, KESH sh.a., the amount of energy for the supply of OSHEE Group and OST sh.a. it has been supplemented by the production of the cascade, as well as by the import of electricity.

The better water situation in the first part of the year and the management done by KESH ensured the supply of the country until recently, limiting the purchases in the free market that have started recently. How is the cascade situation regarding energy levels and reserve and do you think it will change positively in the short term?

The autumn period, according to multi-year average data, coincides with meteorological conditions with medium and humid temperatures. We are at the beginning of the third month of autumn, and the meteorological conditions so far have been characterized by temperatures above the multi-year average, causing consumption to continue to remain above average and with little rain, which has not brought any impact in the hydropower reserve of the Drin cascade.

KESH sh.a. will dynamically manage the hydropower situation and will take the appropriate measures to ensure the fulfillment of the request of OSHEE Group and OST sh.a.

How much energy was purchased from January to October in the free market in terms of quantity and value?

In the period January-June 2023, it did not buy electricity as it was in the conditions of energy surpluses, beyond meeting the electricity demand for OSHEE Group and OST sh.a. For the period July-October 2023, KESH sh.a. has met the demand with electricity from cascade production and electricity import.

In July-October 2023, more than 458 thousand MWh of energy were imported, with an average price of 109.71 euros/MWh and the total value for this purchase of energy in the free market is 50.2 million euros.

KESH has also carried out energy storage during this year. How much is this amount and when is it agreed to be returned?

Mainly in the first six months of 2023, KESH sh.a. it happened in the conditions of electricity surpluses and in order to manage them, it has deposited a certain amount in Korporatana Elektroenergjetike Kosovë sh.a., adjusted according to the needs of the latter, with the aim of receiving it in the following period of the year. The net amount deposited in Kosovo, until September 2023, is about 67,000 MWh.

How do you predict the country’s energy supply situation in winter? Where will the energy be provided in the base scenario you have?

KESH sh.a. analyzes the current situation and calculates according to a multi-year average the flows in the Drin reservoir for the following period, where it results that in the conditions where we enter the winter season (with an increase in consumption due to the decrease in temperatures) a part of the energy that KESH JSC does not cover it from the production of the cascade, will have to import/buy it in the free market, in order to fulfill the public service obligation.

Source: Monitor Magazine