Each liter of water flowing in the river for a drink

The work of “investors” is this: The foreign company takes over the water resources of Kosovo's people for free. She then engages a construction company to cut the trees across the river and open deep channels. That's where you put some tubes and generators. After six months of work, the construction company leaves and begins leaving the riverbed and profiting for the foreign company.

Now the company that's taken the country's water supply for free starts, so that this water can be taken away from its target and put into the tube so it can generate energy by bringing the generators installed into the pipes. For each liter of water passed on the pipe, the company receives money twice from Kosovo citizens. Once it receives when it sells electricity to us next time it receives money from Kosovo's budget as a subsidy.

Who Pays

The more water it passes through tubes as much money for the foreign company and less money for Kosovo's budget and less water in natural environments. So less money for kids in schools, hospitals, economic development, sports, health culture, etc. The company doesn't just take the water resources for free but receives a few million of our taxes. How much money this company receives from the budget is allocated by the Energy Regulatory Office. According to an analyst employed there. That analyst decides what the price will be, with how much money from Kosovo's budget goes to the private company.

Right now for hido megavati generation you pay 67 euros. Some 20 to 30 euros for Megavat are paid by the money the state of Kosovo receives through taxes. In Lumbardh the capacity of the plant is meant to be 60MW, at full capacity the foreign company will receive 1300 euros for each operation hour. That's 30 thousand euros a day, or 11 million a year. This is just a citizen tax subsidy. The company will receive another 22m euros from the sale. The company secures the resources without money, price and sale. So sometimes you buy a piece of the pay you do goes to the company that puts the river into the double tubes in Decan and Kacanic. This money can also go as subsidies to Kosovo families to improve isolation and save energy and thus avoid pollution without breaking the river. After all, tax returns to those who pay back rather than to those who destroy it.

Question: Have you ever seen any energy companies sponsoring any athletes or musicians? I think these companies are greedy to the end and don't turn anything into a community.

Political parties

Political parties in the majority have come up against the project, especially after the public response. Similar sentiments have been given by many of the Kosovo government ministers who have voiced opposition at meetings with civil society. But even attitudes and statements have changed, and the level from which these statements have been given I consider to be bad. Reactions have been at the local level and not at the Kosovo level. In Pec with the LDK with the PDK, and all others are unanimous “not the river in the tube”, this too has been voted. No one has reacted as party chairman except the prime minister.

Prime Minister

Kosovo's prime minister, whose party has held power in Kosovo's most affected municipality with hydro power plants, has reacted to the project and protest. He has requested the stop of the procedure “to create a clear and comprehensive mirror for the scale of this project in the environment”. A reaction that is softer than that of the top official of this party, Fatmir Gashi, who has said that he “as has signed and will never sign such things at times” referring to the project in Lumbardh of Pec. Even the statements of the prime minister's party branch in Pec were milder. The branch called for and voted the full stop differently from the prime minister.

Another thing to mention about the prime minister's relationship with this project and the protest is the fact that the prime minister has chosen to meet people from Rugova at the same time when the elected representative of Rugova's local community organised protest. The prime minister had also called members of civil society to join this meeting by removing people from the protest. Some have turned down and protested.

The Important Part

In the developed part of the world, re-evaluation of hydropower plants and its impact on people's lives and habitats has begun. In Slovenia, the environment minister has already cancelled six hydropower plants on the Mura license River, which had already been granted. That decision has been supported by 100 scientists from many European countries, including Austrian, Swiss and German. Their letter says “over the past two decades the value of their river systems and beds for human good has clearly been identified: Natural rivers provide a variety of ecosystem services, such as water cleaning, filling underground drinking and agriculture reserves, protecting natural biodiversity, and unique opportunities for development of recrets and tourism”.

So the impact of hydro power plants is enormous on natural habitats and biodiversity, but this is overcome by impact on the water supply and microclimate change. It appears that small hydropower plants are more harmful than coal production itself. Many residents in Decan have complained that after the construction of hydros there their bunkers have run out of complaints that were ignored by no one. In the Penje River this impact will be even greater, and on account of a “investor” foreign ones besides economic development we will lose water and drink, biodiversity and the potential of further tourism development.

Summary

Protests in Pec around itself have gathered many people and more members of civil society. He has mobilized good people and made this issue valid for their vote. The issue has mobilised the organisation with international sub-relation WWF and will now become a national water council that will include a lobby group for the entire Kosovo. The upcoming protest will be in Pristina, hopefully much greater.

P.S. The assembled fist is not a communist symbol but a symbol of the union.

The author has fallen in love with the river at age nine and his feelings have not changed.