Hydro power plants write letters to Kurt and Obadiah

Kosovo's Renewable Energy Association has been addressed through a letter to Prime Minister Albin Kurti and international institutions, where warnings from the Minister of Infrastructure and Environment, Lumir Abdixhiku, are rejected to stop building hydropower plants.

This association has warned major consequences for the state budget if such a decision is made arbitraryly. They have argued that all plant builders are equipped with permits based on applicable laws in Kosovo.

Any decision that can now be made, when most of the works have been completed, to cut any specific project, would have major legal and contractual consistencys because every investor in Kosovo is protected even through Investment Law No. 04/L-220 where at Article 6 pars. 2 Strengthening investor protection as follows:

No law, regulation, or other norm act has retroactive powers or can be implemented through retroactively at the expense of the foreign investor or a foreign investor investment. If, the foreign investor has made an investment in the Republic of Kosovo, and within the period of 5) years, immediately after making investment, some provision of this law is changed or reduced, and this has a negative impact on the foreign investor or its investment, then the foreign investor is entitled to compensation from the Government of the Republic of Kosovo according to Article 8th paragraph 2. of this law, for all the damage and expense that were caused by the change, the revocation, or the extraction of such an act. This privilege of foreign investor is given to him and can be applied immediately after making investment in the Republic of Kosovo”, the communique says.

Among other things in the communiqué, it is said that in the event of any arbitrary decision, the consequences and damages that could be caused to all sides would be significant especially for the Kosovo Republic of Kosovo budget, as each project is equipped with all the permits and in accordance with the legislation in force.

Below, you can read the complete letter:

Your Honor. Prime Minister of the Republic of Kosovo,

Your Honor, sir. Minster of Infrastructure and Environment,

Honored Representatives Accredited in Kosovo

Through electronic media we have reportedly been told that a decision is expected to be made to ban the works of Hidrocentrals in Kosovo, where most of them are close to completion under legal conditions and deadlines.

Let us inform you that the plant construction process has been under way since 2006, and in 2010 the first permits and authorisations were given for their construction.

Their start is due to the Energy Community obligations, and the Energy Community Council's Council of Ministers' decision on the appointment of obligations that have been decided Kosovo must achieve by 2020.

The Ministry of Energy and Minings, initially, in consulate with the Energy Community Secretariat in 2007, and then in 2013 with Administorial Directions, has set the limits of the BRE, where small hydropower plants have given you room to 240 MW, not even half of them could be achieved.

EU directive no. 72 / 2009 has established that the process of building the BRE should be carried out through the authorization process. We as local project developers, with foreign partnerships, have started with the research and research necessary, and after completing more than 20 permits issued by all institutions of the Republic of Kosovo, central and local, we are equipped with construction permits and final authorisations.

Investments into these projects have had to be done through equity and bank loans, where for more than 2 years negotiations with banks we have managed to get bank loans with high interest rates.

Projects have been built, or are being built mainly in disused mountain areas and with minimal social and environmental impacts, intrusion at a separate project that could have any impacts, even though they were built away from drinking water sources.

The goal of Kosovo's state was initially to reach the limits, and development of the energy sector and construction of hydropower plants and wind and solar projects was the main goal and goal. We as a company with international partnerships from USA, Austria, Germany and Slovenia etc., after many difficulties we have managed to start and build these projects even though, the cost of their investment was quite high, and the return of investments could come after the 8th year of generation, while the contract is only 10 years.

Furthermore, after many discussions and the EBRD and the IFC have also managed to secure the Energy Buying Agreement, which has been linked to COST, and this agreement has become “bank”, where commercial banks have also begun funding us despite difficult conditions for collateral coverage we have entered contractual relations with banks, while our foreign investors have protection from their countries.

Any decision that can be made now, when most of the work has been completed, cutting any specific project, would have major legal and contractual consistency, since each investor in Kosovo is protected even through the No. Investment Law. 04/L-220 where at Article 6 pars. 2 Strengthening investor protection as follows:

No law, regulation, or other norm act has retroactive powers or can be implemented through retroactively at the expense of the foreign investor or a foreign investor investment. If, the foreign investor has made an investment in the Republic of Kosovo, and within the period of 5) years, immediately after making investment, some provision of this law is changed or reduced, and this has a negative impact on the foreign investor or its investment, then the foreign investor is entitled to compensation from the Government of the Republic of Kosovo according to Article 8th paragraph 2. of this law, for all the damage and expense that were caused by the change, the revocation, or the extraction of such an act. This privilege of foreign investor is granted to him and can be implemented immediately after making investment in the Republic of Kosovo.

Based on this, Article 2 and 44 of the Energy Purchasing Agreement contains the clause that the ongoing investor arbitration will be rewarded for the investment cost, but also for lost profit.

We are working in difficult conditions, where more than 2,000 regular and working workers have been employed during construction either through contracting companies directly, which receive salaries and carry families. Aside from reducing the import of energy that more than 90 % is imported from Serbia, we reduce the emissions of CO2 air pollution and rivers that are contrary to what is wildly propaganda that hydro power plants pollute rivers. Moreover, our companies are regular taxpayers where hundreds of thousands of euros are paid in the country's budget. While our investments are mainly of its own capital and with loans with fairly high interest rates and collateral-covered over 200% of credited values.

Honored Prime Minister and Minister, we beg you to impartially assess the projects and legislation after we have passed through a series of filters with more than 20 permits issued by central local institutions of the Republic of Kosovo. And let us also inform you that in the event of any arbitrary decision, the consequences and damages that could be caused to all sides would be significant especially for the budget of the Republic of Kosovo, as each project is equipped with all the permits and in accordance with the legislation in force.