Albania seeks to import more electricity |
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Tue, 09 Jan 2007 23:30
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TIRANA, Albania - The Albanian power corporation said Tuesday it is urgently looking to increase imports of electricity to avoid a shutdown of its main hydropower stations, which have been suffering from lack of rain.Andi Beli, head of the state-owned Albanian Electro-Energy Corporation, or KESH, said the lack of rain had dried up lakes at hydropower plants in the north, and the shutdown of imports from Bulgaria has caused a serious electricity crisis in the Balkan country.The country's daily electricity consumption has been nearly double the 8-10 million kilowatt-hours it is able to produce.Beli said the only 'way out was to increase imports' and they were looking to buy 9 million kwh from neighboring Greece.KESH has imposed up to 12-hour daily power cuts throughout the country due to difficulties in importing and domestic production.Hospitals, government institutions, water supply, bakeries and police were being given priority in power supply, though such institutions are also suffering from shutdowns.Many energy experts and former senior officials in the sector have called on the government to declare a state of emergency and ask for international help to provide energy to the country.Since 1990, the former communist nation has suffered regular electricity troubles due to poor management, an outdated distribution system and lack of money because of unpaid bills.Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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