North Stream still out of control

Kosovo Prime Minister Ramush Haradinaj, aiming to establish the payment rule in the north in April of this year, had declared he would open the market with distributors through commercial services.

Although he has mentioned the way this could function, the executive leader has said that so far they have failed to make such a finding because of the risk of breaking the law.

The truth is that in the north we give energy, nobody gives it, nobody gives it, and nobody's going to let it go because it's Kosovo as the market, but the payment rule has to be established, we've offered to open the distribution market, not like KEDS, but with commercial services, but we're being asked to break Kosovo's laws and we haven't managed to do”, he declared.

Kosova Prees has tried to understand what could cause the law to fail in the event of establishing the payment rule through the distributors, but that he has not received any clarification.

Government spokeswoman Donjet Gashi has indicated that the Government is committed to implementing the energy agreement through technical dialogue.

The government of the Republic of Kosovo is committed to ensuring energy stability in the country. On the other hand, it is being engaged through technical dialogue, which it leads and through international partners to implement the” Energy Agreement, she said.

On the other hand, the prime minister's energy adviser, Spring Dobruna, has declined to comment on the way the current is paid in the north, placing full responsibility on the ZRRE.

I am an foreign adviser, I have no authority to speak on behalf of the government. It's the Regulatory Office that needs to provide information and is competent in this matter”, she said.

Serbian analyst from the north of Mitrovica, Zelko Tvedissic, has made it known to Kosovo Prees that citizens in the north are unaware of who use electricity, from Kosovo or Serbia.

According to him, the current, which serves for northern citizens, comes from central Serbia.

He argued that institutions should be integrated primarily into that part, such as police, courts, faculty and similar, which he said is unknown if they pay their energy and who they pay for, and then talk about citizens.

As for the millions of euros in the Government of Kosovo, which are said to be being spent on northern citizens and covering energy bills for them, Tvedisk said these are only speculations, because, as he put it, with that money, the losses of KED are being covered in the south.

He added that resolving this problem is the Brussels agreement, which he said would still take time until obligations on both sides are put into practice.

I believe that even northern citizens don't know the current from whom they use it, but they still use it. According to some data from the distributors in the north, the percentage of the electricity pre-paid is 20 to 30 percent... Part of the taxpayers in the north paid off Serbia's Elektrotributor power, are these mainly institutions such as faculty, dormitories etc.... According to my information, but also some cognitive people in this area, the current that serves for northern citizens comes from central Serbia. There are doubts that these are just speculations to cover up KED's losses in the south, and not that the money pays off the current in the north... I don't think even northern institutions have yet to be integrated into the Kosovo system, so let us integrate institutions and then think about citizens. The question is whether the detention centre pays the electricity and who it pays, then Kosovo Police, the Court in the north, etc. When these start paying electricity bills, I'm assuming citizens will start. Whatever the case, the solution is Brussels, and this is the main point of solving this problem. There is Brussels' energy agreement, even though the results of such an agreement are still not noted on the ground, and I am afraid time is still needed to clarify the obligations of the parties regarding the energy issue”, Trudiscep has said.

By contrast, since the end of the recent war in Kosovo in 1999, competent authorities for the energy sector were unable to access northern Kosovo and failed to read diplomats, send bills to citizens in the north, nor to collect revenues for energy spent there.

Kosova Preess has also tried to speak to KED officials, but the latter have declined to comment.