Electricity production from the Drin cascade during 2025 resulted in about 22% lower than the 30-year average, due to a dry year with low flows in the Drin cascade that limited the generation of hydropower plants, according to data from the Albanian Electric Power Corporation (KESH).

Production in the cascade reached about 3.4 million MWh, from a historical average of 4.35 million MWh over the last 30 years. The decline is directly related to weaker water flows in the system's main reservoir.

Average flows in Fierza HPP during the year reached 145 cubic meters per second, compared to 183 m³/s, which is the multi-year average, or about 21% less. The decrease in flows has been reflected to almost the same extent in energy production.

However, compared to several other dry years with similar characteristics, such as 2002, 2008, 2014, 2017, and 2024, production in 2025 resulted in about 2% higher, or about 71 GWh more energy produced.

Despite the unfavorable hydrological conditions, KESH managed to close the year with a positive balance in the energy reserve, accumulating about 250 GWh of energy in Lake Fierza.

The energy reserve at the beginning of the year was 477 GWh, while at the end of the year it reached 727 GWh. At the same time, the water level in Lake Fierza increased significantly during the year. It started the year at 269.22 meters above sea level, about 7.9 meters below the multi-year average, while on December 31, 2025, it reached 278.76 meters, with an annual increase of 9.54 meters and about 1.7 meters above the historical average.

The 2025 performance increasingly highlights the impact of climate change on hydropower production in Albania, where prolonged periods of drought and greater rainfall variability are making hydropower production more unstable.

With over 95% of domestic production based on hydropower, hydropower fluctuations remain one of the main factors determining the country's energy security, something that is being somewhat offset by an increase in the share of energy production from solar plants.