KEDS fined 110 thousand euros for damaged electricity meters

2026-06-02 14:53:06, Kosova & Bota CNA

The Ministry of Industry, Entrepreneurship, Trade and Innovation (MINTI) has fined the Kosovo Electricity Distribution Company (KEDS) 110 thousand euros due to expired electricity meters.

MINTI said that after citizen complaints in May and verifications conducted, it was found that 18 meters had expired validity, two were withdrawn, while 30 meters were found to have inaccuracies in date and time.

"Based on the evidenced findings and in accordance with the Law on Metrology, the Central Market Inspectorate has imposed fines of 110,000 euros on KEDS. Meanwhile, official verification reports have also been submitted to KESCO [Kosovo Electricity Supply Company], with the aim of compensating damaged consumers," said the announcement by MINTI, an institution that announced that meter verifications will continue in the future.

But who can be compensated for damages caused by problems with electricity meters?

According to the Energy Regulatory Office, all customers who are proven to have been harmed will be "fully compensated."

This office has previously said that to receive compensation, citizens must first file a complaint with MINTI, then with KEDS. If they do not agree with their response, then ERO itself can review the complaint.

In April, Radio Free Europe asked the energy regulator how much the compensation could be worth, and ERO said that the financial values ??could vary, but that they are small.

According to ERO, a small number of consumers may benefit from the compensation, as they unknowingly benefited from low tariffs during the day.

"In the majority of cases, financial corrections have not resulted in favor of consumers, but despite this, each case will be treated seriously," an ERO announcement said on April 21.

This is not the first time that KEDS has been fined. MINTI had previously fined it for expired meters.

In April, the ministry said it found expired meters – but did not disclose their exact number – saying the fine for KEDS was between 1,500 and 5,000 euros for each meter.

In early April, authorities began checking electricity meters, finding that some had expired validity dates, inaccurate days and hours. That same month, the Basic Prosecution Office in Pristina authorized the Police to conduct investigations into irregularities with electricity meters.

The irregularities in the electricity meters were first discovered by the Democratic League of Kosovo (LDK) – which was in opposition last term – and the local national media, which published the findings of their research – about 2 thousand samples in total – on discrepancies between the time on the electricity meters and the local time.

According to authorities, the allowed standard for inaccuracy is +/- 0.5 seconds per day, depending on the temperature and duration of the meter, while there are citizens who claim that the inaccuracy goes up to several hours.

The time displayed on consumers' electricity meters in Kosovo is important, as the price of electricity is different, depending on when it is consumed.

Currently, Kosovo has high tariffs, which are during the day, and low tariffs, during the night. According to the tariffs, household consumers who consume up to 800 kilowatt hours (kWh) pay 9.05 cents per kilowatt, while 15.43 cents if they exceed this threshold. During the low tariff, consumers pay 3.88 cents per kilowatt, while 7.28 cents if they exceed the figure of 800 kilowatts.

KEDS has denied any wrongdoing, arguing that the discrepancies in the meters are a technical issue and not manipulation.

This electricity distribution company has said that if the tariff change was made with a few minutes of delay, then it was completed later. However, the company said that, in case of finding inaccuracies outside the allowed norms, "citizens will be compensated up to the last cent."/ REL