Enel Albanian Joint Venture Introduces Coal In Albania's Power Mix

Italy's energy and utilities major Enel has formed a joint venture with Albania's Confederation of Albania's Industries (Konfindustria) called Enel Albania Sh.p.k , for the construction of the country's first coal-fired power plant. Albania has been taking strides to increase and diversify power generation in the country, largely with the help of Italian utilities companies.

Enel Albania is reportedly seeking partners for the construction of the 800MW power plant, which will be supplemented by the construction of a coal jetty at Porto Romano. Furthermore, the power generated by the new power plant will be transported through a new 400KV aerial transmission line that will link up to the Albanian grid, while a 500KV line will carry electricity to Italy through the Adriatic seabed. Environmental groups have raised concern that the coal route for increasing power generation will double the country's carbon emissions to 16mn tonnes.

Since the collapse of the communist regime in Albania and the introduction of market mechanisms in the early 1990s, KESH , the national utilities company, has faced great difficulty in responding to demand. Lack of funds did not allow for new investments in replacing the ageing infrastructure, while the sector's Achilles heal is its dependence on hydropower for power generation at a time when droughts are becoming more frequent. Albania's power generation relies on hydropower generation for 95 per cent of its power generation, making power supply completely dependent on rainfall. When the water levels are low, power shortages are accentuated by ageing power generation, transmission and distribution facilities.

According to a report by the Southeast European Times , KESH can on average meet only 50% of the country's power needs. USAID, one of the agencies working in energy sector reform in the country, stipulates that privatising the distribution arm of the state-owned utility company KESH is a key reform in addressing the issue. Indeed, data from the national statistics agency shows that average annual losses on the network are 2.2GWh, close to the volume of the average annual imports of 1.6GWh; a figure which highlights the waste from the existing facilities.