The darkness has come: KEDS calls for the people's current to be expensive for 7%

Such an increase has been requested by the Kosovar Power Distribution Company (KEDS), its Free Europe spokesman, Viktor Buzhala, disclosed to Radio Europe.

“We have applied for extraordinary consideration of electricity tariffs. The demand is to raise electricity tariffs by 7 percent”, he said.

Kosovo consumers currently pay 6.75 cents per kilowatt per hour.

This award will be until April 1st 2022, if KED and Universal Power Service Providers do not require extraordinary reviews of electricity tariffs from the Energy Regulatory Office <x0) in Kosovo.

The paper requested more details about the increase in energy prices, but, until the publication of this text, it did not provide any answers.

ZRRE announced on December 13th that it will open the process of extraordinary screening of electricity tariffs, “to reflect on the increased import prices”, as a result of the global energy crisis.

The crisis has started many months, mainly because of gas shortages and rising gas prices.

Rizvanolli: A Surprising Energy Situation

Kosovo Economy Minister Artane Rizvanolli warned extraordinary electricity situations in the country.

Reporting to the Parliamentary Commission for Economics, Industry, Interventor and Trade, Rizvanolli said the situation is the result of high import prices.

She said 12m euros have been earmarked for electricity imports this year, but those tools, according to her, have been spent in just two months.

Rizvanolli said there can be no guarantee that the electricity price will not increase.

The economy ministry, meanwhile, is drafting the Energy Strategy for the period 2022-2031.

This strategy, according to the ministry, will analyse all potential and financially affordable scenarios to increase the stability of electricity supply, as well as provide the greater integration of renewable energy sources.

Because of the heavy situation, the Kosovo Government and other authorities, such as ZRRE and KED, have asked citizens to save electricity so it does not come to shortages.

Buzhala: Astronomical Prices of Power Import

The global energy crisis has led Albania and Northern Macedonia to already declare energy crisis situations.

KED spokesman Viktor Buzhala, said such crisis has reached Kosovo as well.

Currently, from thermal power plants “Kosovo A” and “Kosovo B” in Obilic is produced no more than 550 megawatts per hour, Buzhala said.

According to him, demand for over 1,100 megawatts and import is necessary.

Over 200 megawatts of electricity are being imported, at very expensive prices. We are buying energy at astronomical prices, amounting to 300 euros for megawatts more than last year”, Buzhala said, to add that increasing the electricity price in Kosovo will be inevitable.

Citizens in Trouble With Prices

Bedri Vlasaliu, from Pristina, says any increase in the price of electricity will be difficult to bear with his six-member family.

We're paying 30 euros [in months]. If it's expensive, it's affordable. As if only the current was, other products were expensive. With a 300-euro salary you can't get out of”, he says.

Even for Adrian Krasniqi, who lives in Pristina along with six family members, rising the price of electricity would bring difficulties.

About 85 euros, my electricity bill has arrived. For us, as citizens, expensive is hard to bear with”, Krasniqi says.

Nejip Shylemija says he paid 30 euros for the current for November. In his four-member family, heating is done with burning wood.

I don't pay much electricity because we're mad at burning wood. It would not be good to expensive electricity, since all [products] have been expensive, but, apparently, there will be expensive”, he says.

In addition to the price of electricity, which is expected to be expensive, prices of basic products have been significantly expensive in Kosovo.

According to data from the Kosovo Statistics Agency, price hikes have started from April to 1.2 percent, reaching 5.7 percent in October.

The higher growth is noted in bread, cereals, meat, milk, cheese, oil, eggs, trees, and vegetables.