USEA Upcoming Events

March 25-26 2015: USAID/USEA Black Sea Regional Transmission System Planning (BSTP) Project Working Group Meeting Bucharest, Romania

March 27 2015: USAID/USEA Black Sea Regional Transmission System Planning (BSTP)/Black Sea Regulatory Initiative (BSRI) Joint Project Working Group Meeting Bucharest, Romania

Opening speech of Minister of Energy and Industry on Albania Oil, Gas & Energy 2015 Summit – (Albeu) Although Albania has been long known for its oil, proven to be a major European hydrocarbon producer from the late 1920's when international companies discovered shallow fields, Patos-Marinza was one of these fields and is still attracting worldwide attention…

Albania continues tough fight against electricity theft – (dtt-net) During a period of only two weeks Albanian police has arrested nearly 400 people in capital Tirana, among them six from country’s energy company, for electricity theft…

Albania, Macedonia to build new electricity interconnection line – (dtt-net) Albanian and Macedonian governments had talks today over preparations for a new electricity interconnection line of 400 KV, which is likely to be financed by the London based European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)…

Albania and Macedonia to Sign Memorandum of Co-operation in Energy Sector – (Energetika) In their talk, Neziri and Gjiknuri focused on a 400kV interconnector between Bitola (Macedonia) and Elbasan (Albania). According to Neziri, the feasibility study and the study on the environmental impact have a...

Bulgaria

100 emergency teams of CEZ Bulgaria work on breakdowns debugging: manager – (Focus) “There are 100 emergency teams on duty at the moment and they are working on the recovery of the electricity supply in the settlements,” said Viktor Stanchev, exploitation and maintenance manager at CEZ Bulgaria, speaking for FOCUS News Agency…

Hundreds Stage Protest Over CEZ Power Failures in Bulgaria's Lozen – (Novinite) Close to 400 protesters from the Sofia village of Lozen gathered on Sunday to express their dissatisfaction with the services of CEZ electricity distribution company…

Commission fleshes out energy strategy for Southeast Europe – (Euractiv) As energy ministers of eight countries from Southeast Europe meet in Sofia today (9 February) to discuss the countries’ needs and ambitions, a leaked paper has shed light on the European Commission’s plans to help the region overcome its various problems…

Bulgaria Allocates Further BGN 15 M for Energy Effectiveness Projects – (Novinite) The Bulgarian government decided at its meeting on Wednesday to allocate further BGN 15 M for additional co-financing of energy effectiveness projects. This concerns projects, which have already been started and have applied for funding before the launch of the large-scale programme worth BGN 1 B, which was announced last week…

Almost BGN 15 mln allocated from state budget for project energy renovation of Bulgarian homes: minister – (Focus) "Almost BGN 15 million has been allocated from the state budget as additional co-financing for the Energy Renovation of Bulgarian Homes project," said Bulgarian Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Lilyana Pavalova, speaking with journalists after Wednesday’s regular sitting of the Government, FOCUS News Agency reported…

Bulgarian President: EU Energy Union to Deepen Integration – (Novinite) Bulgarian President Rosen Plevneliev said on Monday that the establishment of an EU Energy Union will bring the level of European political and economic integration to a new levelo.  Plevneliev stated this during his meeting with European Commission's Vice-President Maros Sefcovic and Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, the presidential press service reports…

Bulgaria has all prerequisites to build gas hub: Energy Minister – (Focus) We presented our proposals for the construction of the gas hub on the territory of Bulgaria during today’s meeting, which was held in extremely open and constructive dialog. That is what Minister of Energy Temenuzhka Petkova said at a press conference after the first sitting of a summit Group on the construction of gas connections in Central and Southeast Europe, a reporter of FOCUS News Agency announced…

Bulgarian PM pushes gas hub idea at energy conference in Sofia – (The Sofia Globe) Bulgaria is one of the European Union countries that has the most interest in the security of energy supply and diversification of sources, which is why the government is working hard to implement key projects that will allow Bulgaria to access secure gas supplies at competitive prices, Prime Minister Boiko Borissov told an energy conference in Sofia on February 9…

PM: Bulgaria has the potential to be gas distribution centre of SEE, EU (ROUNDUP) – (Focus) At the initiative of Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Bulgarian capital city Sofia hosted a sitting of a summit Group on the construction of gas connections in Central and Southeast Europe, which will work on the most important projects for diversification of the natural gas deliveries…

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Federation BiH: End of Project for ESCO Model Application in Public Sector – (Energetika) The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) conducted a project called "the Regional Energy Efficiency Programme of the Western Balkans", which was financed by the Western Balkans Investment Fr...

Croatia

Croatia tops list of W. Balkans countries for energy dependency – (dtt-net) The new EU member from the Western Balkans, Croatia imports 52.3 percent of the energy it consumes which is the highest in the region, followed by Macedonia with 47,9 percent, Montenegro 26.5 percent, Albania 25.1 percent and Serbia 23.5 percent, according to EU’s statistical agency, Eurostat…

Heavy snow causes traffic disruptions, power cuts – (Dalje) Heavy snow in Croatia on Friday caused traffic disruptions and left many houses without electricity.  Rail traffic from Ogulin to Rijeka and from Ogulin to Knin was suspended at 2pm due to huge snowdrifts in the Lika and Gorski Kotar regions…

280 new renewable energy power plants expected to be put into operation – (Dalje) A total of 280 new facilities using renewable energy sources, with a planned power capacity of 494,237 megawatts, are expected to be put into operation by the end of this year, the president of the Croatian Energy Federation, Tomislav Marjanovic, says…

Slovenian Power Distribution Losses Will Be Covered by HEP and HSE – (Energetika) As SODO announced, the chosen candidates, HEP for 2016 and 2017, and HSE for 2018, offered the following energy prices: EUR 44.39 per MWh for the year 2016, EUR 44.42 per MWh for 2017, and EUR 44.45 per MWh for...

Kosovo

Kopač: Kosovo Should Prioritise Third Energy Package and Energy Efficiency – (Energetika) The Energy Community Secretariat has assisted Kosovo in the preparation of the Third Package draft laws and has recently submitted a draft law on the energy performance of buildings to the government as a way…

Prioritize Third Package and energy efficiency, Director tells Kosovo’s Parliament – (Energy Community) Director Kopač outlined the status of Kosovo’s* implementation of the Energy Community acquis to Members of the Energy Committee of the Kosovo National Assembly in Pristina on 10 February. The Director underlined that the key priority for Kosovo should be the adoption of the package of laws transposing the Third Energy Package…

Macedonia

Macedonia pays the highest price of Russian gas in Europe – (dtt-net) Macedonia has been buying Russian gas for 564 USD per 1000 meter cubic, which is the highest price in the Europe…

Montenegro

Montenegro: Interenergo and Petrol the Biggest Exporters of Electricity – (Energetika) EPCG-BG imported 31,492 MWh and exported 9,238 MWh of electricity, while Interenergo imported 2,550 MWh and exported 20,684 MWh of electricity in December. Thus, EPCG-BG was the biggest importer of electricity...

Montenegro's Minister: Underwater Energy Cable project Will Boost Our Economy – (Energetika) Marchiori informed the minister about the ongoing activities related to the design and construction of the cable, adding that these activities are being undertaken according to the schedule.Minister Žugić highl...

Montenegro highlightes the importance of the underwater cable construction – (Balkans) Turkey's Finance Minister Radoje Žugić met with Executive Director of Terna Montenegro Claudio Marchiori to discuss the implementation of TERNA projects, particularly emphasising the most important energy project – construction of underwater cable between Italy and Montenegro…

Montenegro: Call for Public Debate on Concession Acts for Lignite Coal Extraction – (Energetika) The aim of this discussion is to obtain comments and suggestions from the citizens, all the relevant institutions, the industry representatives, the non-governmental sector, as well as the professional community…

Romania

UPDATE 1-Romania discussions with creditors stumble over energy policy – (Reuters) Romania failed to reach an agreement with its international creditors on its aid deal as Bucharest resisted calls for gas price hikes and restructuring state-run coal firms, Prime Minister Victor Ponta said on Monday…

Romania was among the least dependent countries on energy imports in the EU – (Balkans) Romania was among the least dependent countries on energy imports in the European Union, in 2013, after Estonia (11.9%) and Denmark (12.3%).  Romania imported 18.6% of its energy, according to the statistical office of the European Union (Eurostat)…

UPDATE 1 - Romania's energy output edges up 0.7% in 2014 – (SeeNews Renewables) Romania's energy output edged up by an annual 0.7% in 2014, while imports increased 6.1%, the statistics office, INS, said on Wednesday.  Romania's energy production totalled 21.9 million tonnes of oil equivalent (TOE) last year, while imports reached 10.25 million TOE, INS said in a statement…

Electricity wholesale price up 50% in Romania, if green energy removed – (Romania-Insider) The electricity wholesale price in Romania could increase by 50% if the production mix no longer included renewable energy, said Emil Calota, vice president of Romania’s energy regulation agency ANRE…

2014 the hardest year for green energy – (The Diplomat) At the end of 2014, the Government announced that the mandatory annual renewable energy quota would be set to 11.9 per cent share within the gross energy consumption in 2015, up from the previous level of 11.1 per cent established in 2014…

Romania to export electricity of 250 million Euro in 2014 – (The Diplomat) In early January, the European Network of Transmission System Operators for Electricity (ENTSO-E) announced that Romania exported about 7.28 TWh of electricity, worth about 250 million Euro last year…

Romania's Electricity Export Grew by 5.7 Billion kWh in 2014 – (Energetika) Electricity production and imports totalled 63.985 billion kWh in 2014, up 7.8% compared to 2013. Production increased by 7.4%.Production at the Romanian thermal power plants fell by 1.6% to around 26.59 billion…

Why Europe wants to build an energy union – (The Christian Science Monitor) With about one-third of European gas coming from Russia – and Eastern Europe’s share is easily double that percentage – the Continent is looking inward to boost its energy security…

Romania's Day-Ahead Power Sales Volume Up 25.24% in January – (Energetika) The average price was 39.53 EUR/MWh, a decrease of 1.65% compared to December 2014, and an increase of 11.33% compared to January 2014.The value of transactions on the day-ahead market was EUR 92.26 million…

Serbia

Hungary, Serbia say EU should ensure region's energy security after Russian pipeline scrapped – (Fox Business) The foreign ministers of Hungary and Serbia say it is the responsibility of the European Union to ensure energy security for their region after a Russian pipeline project was canceled…

Hungary, Serbia call on EU to ensure energy security – (Yahoo News) The foreign ministers of Hungary and Serbia say it is the responsibility of the European Union to ensure energy security for their region after a Russian pipeline project was canceled…

Serbia invites US-based companiesto invest in Serbian energy sector – (Balkans) Serbian Deputy Parliament Speaker Vladimir Marinkovic invited US-based companies on Saturday to invest in Serbian energy sector, particularly in renewable energy sources.  Marinkovic met with US Senator Ted Cruz and Deputy Assistant Secretary for European and Eurasian Affairs Hoyt Brian Yee to discuss investment opportunities in Serbian energy and other sectors…

Serbia's top power plant restarts 328 MW unit after delayed upgrade – (Reuters) Serbia's largest coal-fired power plant complex, Nikola Tesla (TENT), said on Thursday it had reconnected to the grid an upgraded 328 megawatt (MW) unit.  The unit went on stream late on Wednesday after being taken offline last July for a six-month upgrade designed to boost its capacity to 328.4 MW from 305 MW and reduce greenhouse gas emissions…

EBRD Considers Providing Loan for Serbia's Čibuk I Wind Farm Project – (Energetika) According to EBRD, the project will be an independent power producer and will sell its electrical output under a 12-year long-term power purchase agreement (PPA) with a subsidiary of the state-owned power…

Armenia

Electrical Networks of Armenia promises 8.4 billion drams investment this year into upgrading of system – (ARKA) The Electric Networks of Armenia company has pledged to invest 8.4 billion drams in 2015 into upgrading the facility, the Public Services Regulatory Commission (PSRC) said today, citing the company's investment program…

Asian Development Bank to Provide $500 Million to Armenia Over Next 5 Years – (Hetq.am) The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has approved a new country partnership strategy with Armenia which includes targeted support for infrastructure, urban development, and energy to underpin more resilient, inclusive and sustainable growth…

Energy alliance priority of Eurasian Economic Union – Medvedev – (RT) An energy union between Russia, Kazakhstan, Belarus, and Armenia will be the main focus in the coming year, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said at the inaugural meeting of the Eurasian Governmental Council in Moscow…

Armenia and Russia sign loan agreement for extending service life of Metsamor nuclear power plant – (ARKA) Armenia's deputy minister for international economic integration and reforms Suren Karayan and Russian's deputy finance minister Sergey Storchak signed today in Moscow an agreement whereby Russia will provide Armenia with a loan for extending the service life of the Armenian nuclear power plant. The agreement was signed during Prime Minister Hovik Abrahamyan's visit to Moscow…

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijan prepares new energy product for export – (Azernews) The current instability on the international oil market and low prices on "black gold" pose new challenges for Azerbaijan, namely, the development of its export opportunities and the delivery of new goods to the market. Alternatively however, electricity is the current real commodity for Azerbaijani export…

Azerenergy ups power generation – (Azernews) The power plants of Azerbaijani joint-stock company, Azerenergy, generated in January 2015 about 2.3 billion kilowatt hours of electricity versus about 2.2 billion kilowatt hours in January 2014…

National power supply operator established in Azerbaijan – (ABC.AZ) National power supply operator has been established today by a presidential order.  Under the order, Baku Electric Network OJSC (Bakıelektrikşəbəkə) was renamed into Azersvet OJSC (Azərişıq) with expansion of authorities up to organization and carrying out electric supply on the whole territory of Azerbaijan. Azersvet is also authorized to provide effective and safe supply of electricity to consumers and introduce new technologies…

Rating of the national energy operator brought in conformity with Azerbaijan sovereign rating – (ABC.AZ) Rating of Azerenerji OJSC, the national energy operator, has been brought in conformity with Azerbaijan sovereign rating.  According to Standard & Poor’s, yesterday its Ratings Services revised its outlook on Azerbaijan-based vertically integrated electricity utility Azerenerji to negative from stable…

S&P revises outlook on Azerenergy – (Azernews) Standard & Poor's Ratings Services said that it had revised its outlook on Azerbaijan-based vertically integrated electricity utility Azerenergy to negative from stable…

Turkey-Azerbaijan South Gas Corridor is on the table – (Daily Sabah) Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız will attend a meeting tomorrow of the advisory board for the Turkey-Azerbaijan South Gas Corridor. Top officials from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Greece, Albania, Bulgaria and Italy will also attend the meeting, which will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan…

Energy ministers to gather in Baku – (News.Az) On February 12 Baku will host the first meeting of the Advisory Council of Energy Ministers of the member countries of the "Southern Gas Corridor", Oxu.Az reports with reference to the Ministry of Energy.  At the first meeting of the Consultative Council with the participation of delegations led by energy ministers of the participating countries of the "Southern Gas Corridor" - Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia, Greece, Albania, Italy, Bulgaria…

Ilham Aliyev talks about energy security in Munich – (Vestnik Kavkaza) A roundtable discussion on energy security dedicated to the subject "Strategies for diversification" has taken place at the Munich Security Conference. The chairman of the Munich Security Conference, Wolfgang Fredrik Ischinger, said that the scope of issues discussed in the framework of the Munich Security Conference has expanded. In 2013, energy security was included on this list…

Deputy PM: “Azerbaijan and Russia are conducting negotiations for development of North-South transport and energy corridor” – (APA) Azerbaijan and Russia will sign, in the first half of 2015, a plan for cooperation in the investment area until 2020, the Deputy Prime Minister of Russia Arkady Dvorkovich told reporters in Baku on Feb. 10…

Georgia

SOCAR expands gasification program in Georgia – (Trend) SOCAR Georgia Gas (a subsidiary of "SOCAR Energy Georgia") had to gasify at least 150,000 potential new customers and to invest at least $ 40 million in the...

Georgia will Chair the Energy Charter in 2015 – (European Energy Review) In Astana, on 26th of November, 2014, a meeting between Georgian Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze and European Energy Charter Security General Urban Rusnak revealed that Georgia will host the 26th Energy Charter Conference—The Charter's top governing and decision-making body…

Georgia is ready to solve problems with Southern Gas Corridor project implementation – (Trend) The implementation of the second stage of developing the Azerbaijani gas condensate Shah Deniz-2 field was mainly discussed during the first meeting of the Advisory Council of the Southern Gas Corridor project, held in Baku Feb. 12, Georgian Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze told Trend Feb. 12…

Moldova

Energy and Biomass Project 2 Has Been Launched in Regions – (AEE) The Energy and Biomass Project 2 has been launched today in Taraclia District. The district community leaders, including mayors, public institution managers, local entrepreneurs and biofuel producers who are interested in using bioenergy technologies and solar energy in their community/institution were invited to attend the public meeting where the Energy and Biomass Project 2 has presented its new funding programmes…

Turkey

Turkey, Russia’s Gazprom survey new pipeline route – (Hurriyet Daily News) Turkey’s energy minister and Russia’s Gazprom chief took a helicopter ride over the Black Sea to survey a possible route for the “Turkish Stream” pipeline.  Energy Minister Taner Yıldız and Gazprom CEO Alexey Miller took off from Istanbul and flew along the Black Sea coast, continuing as far as Ipsala on the Turkish-Greek border, to evaluate the possible entry points of the proposed pipeline…

Turkey determined to proceed with Southern Gas Corridor – (World Bulletin) Turkey fully intends to proceed with the Trans Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline and the Southern Gas Corridor projects, Energy Minister Taner Yildiz said on Thursday.  "These projects take advantage of Turkey's geographic position, and Turkey will use that advantage in favor of its neighbors and EU members," Turkey's Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Taner Yildiz said…

Renewable energy on top of gov’t agenda – (Daily Sabah) Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız announced the details of the Renewable Energy Action Plan. Speaking at a press conference, Yıldız noted that while $65 billion was invested in the 2000s for non-fossil fuels, the investments made in 2011 and 2012 have increased fivefold, reaching $310 billion…

Turkey’s wind power capacity increases over 3,000 MW in 2014 – (Hurriyet Daily News) Turkey’s wind power capacity increased to over 3,000 megawatts (MW) with the installation of new facilities totaling 804 MW in 2014, according to wind power body the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)…

Turkey keen to take advantage of hunger for energy in Europe and at home – (The Irish Times) An audacious new plan to pipe Russian gas to Europe has thrown light on Turkey’s emerging and potentially crucial role in getting gas to the energy-hungry continent following the political standoff surrounding events in Ukraine…

EU sees Turkey as central to Energy Union: Energy chief – (World Bulletin) The EU should foster a new strategic energy alliance with Turkey as it will be at the center of EU's secure gas supply scheme in the future, according to EU Commissioner for the Climate Action and Energy on Friday…

EU, Turkey agree on enhancement of energy cooperation – (APA) European Commission Vice-President for Energy Union Maroš Šefčovič, who is on a visit to Baku, has met with Energy and Natural Resources Minister of Turkey Taner Yildiz prior to the meeting of the Advisory Council for the Southern Gas Corridor project…

European Commission and Turkey upgrade energy cooperation – (Vestnik Kavkaza) The European Commission has proposed Turkey to upgrade cooperation through launching high-level energy dialogue, Vice President of the European Commission, Maros Sefcovic tweeted today…

Ukraine

Wholesale market price of electricity in Ukraine increases by 13.7% in 2014 – (Interfax-Ukraine) The average wholesale market price of electricity on the wholesale electricity market of Ukraine in 2014 increased by 13.7%, from UAH 730 to UAH 830 per MWh…

IMF, Ukraine Agree To $17.5 Billion Deal – (Radio Free Europe) Ukrainian Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk says a new multibillion-dollar aid package from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) requires "very difficult" reforms to fight corruption, overhaul the energy sector, cut spending, and reduce bureaucracy…

Energy ministry intends to fight energy sector monopoly – (Interfax-Ukraine) Energy and Coal Industry Ministry of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn has announced he plans to fight the monopoly in the energy sector, while speaking in parliament on Friday…

Ukraine, World Bank sign credit agreement worth $378.4 mln to upgrade power grid – (Interfax-Ukraine) Ukraine and the World Bank have signed a credit agreement worth $378.425 million to implement the Second Power Transmission Project.  An Interfax-Ukraine correspondent has reported that the document was signed by Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn and World Bank Country Director for Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine Qimiao Fan on Tuesday…

Despite war, Ukraine continued Russian electricity imports in January – (Ukrainian Journal) Ukraine imported around 380 million kilowatt-hours (kWh) of electricity from Russia in January, Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn reported… 

Contract on imported Russian electricity could be terminated in two days, says minister – (Kyiv Post) A contract on the supply of Russian electricity to Ukraine could be terminated within two days, Energy and Coal Industry Minister of Ukraine Volodymyr Demchyshyn has said…

Ukraine halves coal production in January – (Interfax-Ukraine) Ukraine's coal mining enterprises in January 2015 reduced coal production by 51.2% (by 3.590 million tonnes) compared to January 2014, to 3.421 million tonnes…

Ukraine's coal mining output down 51.2 percent in January – (Steel Orbis) In January this year, Ukraine's coal mining output decreased by 51.2 percent year on year to 3.421 million mt…

EU energy chief says wants new Ukraine-Russia gas talks – (Reuters) EU energy boss Maros Sefcovic said on Friday the European Union was looking to persuade Moscow to open new gas price negotiations with Ukraine, a step that Russia's energy minister said he was ready to take only if certain conditions were met…

Russian natural gas flows to Ukraine stable – Ukrtransgaz – (Reuters) Russian natural gas flows to Ukraine are stable, Ukrainian gas transport monopoly Ukrtransgaz said on Monday.  A Ukrtransgaz spokesman said Ukraine had received around 29 million cubic metres of gas on Feb. 7…

Europe’s Energy Independence Drive Goes off the Rails – (Foreign Policy) T The continent has tried to start its own shale energy revolution. But tricky geology, clumsy governments, and environmental protesters seem to have smothered it in the cradle…

Poland resumes gas flows to Ukraine - Polish gas pipeline operator – (Reuters) Poland has resumed sending natural gas to Ukraine after deliveries were suspended on Ukraine's request since the beginning of January, the spokeswoman for Poland's state gas pipeline operator Gaz-System said on Thursday…

This program is made possible by the support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). The contents are the responsibility of the United States Energy Association and do not necessarily reflect the views of USAID or the United States Government.