Electricity problems again/ Why is the situation in Kosovo not stabilizing?

2025-12-25 19:03:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

Two decades-old power plants, Kosovo A and Kosovo B, shoulder the burden of supplying electricity to over 1.5 million citizens of Kosovo.

For their rehabilitation, to increase the security of energy supply in the face of citizens' growing need for electricity, millions of euros have been allocated in 2025 alone, according to the current Government.

The System, Transmission and Market Operator (KOSTT) and the Kosovo Electricity Distribution Company (KEDS) also mentioned investments worth millions in the network.

However, the end of the year period seems to throw all the math off. The drop in atmospheric temperatures, the influx of the diaspora into Kosovo – all have a small impact.

KEDS called on citizens on December 22 to save energy during peak hours, to maintain the stability of the electricity supply - energy consumption has reached over 1,365 megawatts of electricity in one hour in recent days.

Due to the heavy load on the distribution network, there were power outages in several cities. Businesses complained of extensive damage.

There are also concerns that the reductions could also undermine the process of the early parliamentary elections on December 28.

Production vs. import
Kosovo manages to produce 94 percent of its energy – or about 800 megawatts per hour – through the burning of coal, while the rest is obtained from renewable sources: hydroelectric power plants, solar panels, and wind turbines.

Former Kosovo Energy Minister Ethem Çeku tells Radio Free Europe that the core of the crisis lies in the lack of capital investment in the energy sector, and the inability to attract large investors, which is why the price of electricity will continue to rise.

"Investments are patchy. Kosovo A and B blocks have not been able to maintain production, the market for private investments in solar and wind energy has not opened. These are minimal investments."

According to him, state money is going mainly to energy purchases, and this is a completely wrong policy.

Kosovo Customs data show that the country imported electricity worth around 248 million euros in the period January-November 2025, while exporting around 48 million euros.

Kosovo has mainly sourced imports from North Macedonia, worth 114 million euros, and from Albania, worth 94 million euros, while it has also imported 3-4 million euros from Slovenia, Serbia and Denmark.

Recently, there have been numerous accusations and media reports in Kosovo that Kosovo is cooperating with Serbian businessmen to purchase electricity through various schemes, but the incumbent Government has denied all these allegations.

The missed opportunity with Kosova e Re
In 2017, Kosovo signed a commercial agreement with the American company Contour Global, for the construction of the Kosova e Re power plant.

The value of the project was 1.3 billion euros, while the energy production capacity was expected to increase by 500 megawatts.

The plans were for the power plant to become operational in 2023, with a lifespan of 40 years.

Civil society in Kosovo and international voices were against the construction of a new coal-fired power plant for environmental reasons.

In 2020, Contour Global withdrew from the project, citing that it was no longer targeting coal projects, as well as due to a change in leadership in Kosovo.

In power at the time were the Vetëvendosje Movement and the Democratic League of Kosovo, which had expressed concerns about the possibility of rising energy prices.

However, Çeku believes that Kosovo had to convince the European Union and the United States at all costs to build the new power plant with powerful investors.

"We have no other alternative, hydro is minimal, wind energy is small, solar energy is very expensive, even though there are enough sunny days, but we had to keep the basis of the development of the energy sector with lignite," he says, mentioning that European countries also have backup plans for coal-fired energy production, especially after the start of Russia's war in Ukraine, which increased the energy crisis. /REL