Prishtina, 02.07.2020 – The Minister of Economy and Environment, Blerim Kuçi, received today for a meeting the Chief Executive Officer of KOSTT, Ilir Shala.

 

Mr Shala informed the Minister about the signing of the new connection agreement with ENTSO-E, stressing that, upon commencement of the implementation of the new Connection Agreement between KOSTT and ENTSO-E, KOSTT will operate as an independent regulatory zone within the AK Block with the Republic of Albania, under the synchronous area of Continental Europe.

 

The new KOSTT/ENTSO-E Connection Agreement is expected to commence implementation in autumn this year after the completion of the technical preparations of the Continental Europe Transmission System Operators and the Swissgrid (Swiss Transmission System Operator) Coordinator, while KOSTT has already carried out all technical and operational preparations in order to be ready to start with independent operation.

 

The new KOSTT/ENTSO-E Connection Agreement includes:

 

– Update of the Catalogue of Measures, according to the recommendations of the KOSTT Project Group; Replacement of all Multilateral Agreement Operations Handbook references with SAFA (Synchronous Area Framework Agreement) references;

 

– For the company “Elektrosever” to apply to ERO and be licensed within 30 days according to Kosovo’s legal and regulatory framework in order to supply electricity to consumers in the northern part of Kosovo.

 

On the other hand, the benefits of operationalizing the Agreement are great, including:

 

– Collection of income from the use of interconnection transmission network or capacity allocation and congestion management, which reaches the average annual value of EUR 4.0–8.0 million and from transit about EUR 0.5–1.0 million;

 

– Full operationalization of the 400 kV interconnection line Kosovo – Albania;

 

– Full implementation of the Kosovo – Albania Regulatory Block Agreement signed in Tirana on 26.11.2019;

 

– Coupling of energy markets with Albania; and

 

– Participation with shares in the Albanian Power Exchange (APEX).

 

Minister Kuçi congratulated Mr Shala and the professional teams of KOSTT on the achievements and successes, expressing his support and the commitment of the Government of Kosovo for the full implementation of the obligations arising from this agreement for KOSTT and the Republic of Kosovo.

 

Minister Kuçi also expressed his support to the Working Group for the preparation of the Action Plan for the security of electricity supply, which will work to address the supply throughout the territory of the Republic of Kosovo, and in particular in the northern part of the country.