Reuters: Energy crisis escalating in Kosovo

While Kosovo is facing its worst energy crisis in a decade, Jhelal Gashi is considering closing his oven in Pristina, because he is trying to cover fuel costs for a generator since authorities introduced power cuts.

“Zaconally I pay about 300 euros for my electricity bill, but I am now spending 100-110 euros a day to buy oil for the” generator, Gashi said, speaking from his oven, where he has 10 workers.

Reuters further writes: “Many businesses and households in Kosovo have released portable power generators since the country's power distribution company KEDS announced last week that it will present electricity outages of two hours until next announcement”.

Countries across Europe are facing increased gas and electricity prices, in part due to increased demand amid economic recovery from pandemic, Reuters writes.

On Friday, the government announced a state of emergency for the next 60 days, which would allow it to allocate more money for energy imports and possibly present even more severe measures and power cuts.

Kosovo produces most of its energy from two old coal thermal power plants outside Pristina, and normally imports 10-15% of its energy, but this figure has increased to 40% during the current crisis.