Reducing the level of losses is the main challenge of power distribution operator OSHEE, which through various mechanisms aims to increase service standards to customers.

In the last two years, the company has operated in atypical terrains, due to the pandemic, accompanied by droughts at hydropower plants and tightening investments.

However, the organization of structures with continuous controls and the improvement of work processes, together with investments in network maintenance, have resulted in further reduction of the level of total losses, OSHEE said.

The five-month period 2022 ended with a level of losses in the electricity network of 21.88%, or 1.04 percentage points decrease compared to 2021, for the same period.

The Director of the Department of Metering, Balance and Market Support at the Electricity Distribution Company of Albania (OSSH), part of OSHEE group, Ermal Murati said that the result was achieved thanks to intensive work, especially in April-May, where losses fell to 17.71%, from 19.62% in the previous year, while only in May the losses reached 17.08%.

"Further improvement of indicators comes as an interaction of interventions in the amortized network, maintenance of OSSH assets, installation of smart meters, as well as controls in areas identified with the highest losses, which reveal cases of theft of electricity. The figures are positive, but still far from where we want to reach, so we need continuous work with structures in the regions, and cooperation with the judiciary, not only to identify abusers of electricity, but also to prevent the phenomenon,” said Murati.

In 2014, when the reform began, OSHEE inherited a degraded system, where more than 50% of electricity was stolen, and the company spent Euro 150 million a year to cover losses through imports.

One of the most important problems faced by OSHEE is the high electricity prices in international market and the lack of liquidity.

In the last three months of 2021, state-owned distribution system operator and universal electricity supplier OSHEE took Euro 100 million in loans to solve liquidity issues and import electricity for consumers in Albania. However, it may not be enough. OSHEE is forced to import electricity at a time when prices are skyrocketing.

So far, OSHEE has signed agreements for three loans. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) has provided EUR 70 million to “address liquidity gaps caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.”

The funds may also cover the construction of a modern underground power substation in central Tirana, EBRD said.

The two other loans came from commercial banks in Albania. EUR 10 million was secured by the American Investment Bank, and another EUR 20 million by the OTP Albania Bank.