European Hours Delayed Because of Kosovo, Serbia

European hours lose six minutes after power disputes from the power grid. A line between Kosovo and Serbia is pushing energy from the continent's 25-nation system, causing electronic watches to lag behind, writes The Guardian.

Europeans who are coming late to work or study in recent weeks have more than bad weather to blame. The real reason is an unprecedented delay in the continent's electrical network that is causing several hours to slow down.

The problem is caused by a political dispute between Serbia and Kosovo that is spilling a small amount of energy from the local network, causing a domino effect across the 25-nation high-volume energy network, which includes the continent from Portugal to Poland and Greece towards Germany.

The power network lobby group called on the two Balkan countries to resolve the dispute.

“Since the European system is interconnected... when there is a lack of balance somewhere, the frequency drops slightly”, said Claire Camus, spokesperson for the European Network of Operators of the Transmission System for Electric Energy (ENTSO-E).

The continental network had lost 113 GUIVE energy since mid-January, because Kosovo had used more electricity than it generates. Serbia, which is responsible for balancing Kosovo's network, had failed to do so, NTSO-E said.

The Brussels-based organisation added that this <x0 average frequency deviation, which has never happened in any way in the continental European electromagnetic system, should cease”.

The transfer from European standard frequency to 50Hz has been enough to cause electrical hours that hold time from energy frequency, instead of integrated quartz crystals, to drop in about six minutes since mid-January.

The problem mostly affects radio alarms, oven watches, or watches used to program heating systems.

ENT SO-E said it was working on a technical solution that could restore the system within weeks, but urged European authorities and national governments to solve the political problem at the heart of the issue.

This is beyond the technical world. There should now be an agreement between Serbia and Kosovo regarding this lack of energy in the Kosovo system. You have to solve it politically and then technically, “said Camus.

Friction between Serbia and Kosovo is part of a broader dispute that dates back nearly 20 years. Since the end of the Kosovo war in 1999, the Serb-dominated north in Kosovo that remains loyal to Belgrade has not paid Kosovo's government for the energy it consumes.

A 2015 agreement was aimed at resolving the dispute, but Serbia has blocked its implementation.

Energy operator in Serbia, EMS, blamed the problem for Kosovo, claiming that in January and February the country “was withdrawing, unauthorizedly, unconvented electricity from the continental European union area”.

Kadri Kadriu, deputy manager of Kosovo's network operator, acknowledged that electricity from other countries was converted into the Serb minority in the north, but said consumers had not paid for electricity, causing considerable financial burdens for the company.