Prishtina, 21 November 2022 – Minister of Economy Artane Rizvanolli, on Friday, chaired the meeting on fighting electricity theft, which was attended by Minister of Internal Affairs, Xhelal Sveçla, Deputy Minister of Justice, Blerim Sallahu, Chairperson of the Board of the Energy Regulatory Office  (ERO), Ymer Fejzullahu, Chairperson of the Judicial Council, Albert Zogaj, representatives of the State Prosecutor’s Office, Kosovo Police and Kosovo Electricity Distribution and Supply Company j.s.c. (KEDS).

Minister Rizvanolli called this meeting to ensure inter-institutional coordination to avoid commercial losses or electricity theft at distribution level. According to the ERO Annual Report, such losses in 2021 were 6.16% or 386 GWh.

Taking into account the electricity import prices expected to reign in the coming months, continuation of such a trend of commercial losses could cost the country (customers and the budget) more than 100 million euros during the autumn and winter season.

Minister Rizvanolli called upon all institutions in charge of security and the rule of law, in accordance with their legal powers and taking into account the energy crisis in the country, to address prevention and fight against electricity theft, which would directly affect general security and sustainable supply of electricity in Kosovo.

During the meeting, Minister Sveçla said that “Fighting electricity theft is an extremely important topic for us, since global events definitely affect energy security, and it is extremely important to have energy stability as it is a precondition for national security stability”.

The Judicial Council, State Prosecutor’s Office and Kosovo Police expressed full readiness for cooperation in addressing the fight against energy theft with a high priority. After the initial coordination meeting, technical meetings will be held next to develop the action plan and identify specific ways to fight energy theft by all relevant institutions.