Government approves the establishment of the Central Publicly Owned Enterprise “Energy Storage Corporation”

Pristina, 13.03.2024 – In the meeting held today, the Government of the Republic of Kosovo has approved the proposal of the Ministry of Economy (ME) for the establishment of Central Publicly Owned Enterprise Energy Storage Corporation (ESC) J.S.C. (Korporata e Ruajtjes së Energjisë (KRE)” Sh.A.

This enterprise will own and manage 125 megawatts of battery energy storage system capacity, which is being built through the Compact Program between the Republic of Kosovo and the United States of America represented by the Millennium Challenge Corporation (MCC), worth of $236 million.

The establishment of this enterprise is a significant step towards the entry into force of the Compact Program in a record period of 18 months, as envisaged from the outset.

The new publicly owned enterprise “Energy Storage Corporation (ESC)” will operate as a joint-stock company with the Republic of Kosovo as its sole shareholder, and during the 5-year development and construction phase, it will be financed by the Compact Program.

The ESC Enterprise will provide services such as:

– Energy arbitrage (storing excess night-time energy mainly from KEK and using it during peak load hours), which represents a highly beneficial cost optimization;

– Balancing the energy system;

– Construction and operation of the energy storage system;

– Trading of stored energy in the region;

– Modeling through information technology and system simulation, as well

– Other network services.

The services to be provided by the ESC are necessary for a well-balanced energy system that provides uninterrupted electricity service to the citizens and businesses of the country. And to further develop our energy system, these services are also essential for the integration into the network of renewable energy sources.

The Ministry of Economy (ME) has envisaged in the business model the mission, activities, and assets, market analysis, and operational analysis, the financial plan, and the organizational structure of the enterprise, thus foreseeing that the enterprise will be self-sustainable from the first year of operation of the battery energy storage system, considering the significant need of our country as well as the region for this type of service.