Albania

CEZ Balkan Reverses Show Flawed Expansion Strategy, Analysts Say – (Bloomberg Business Week) CEZ AS (CEZ)’s plan to become a regional powerhouse among eastern European utilities is crumbling after a second country in three months moved to revoke the Czech company’s license… 

Bankers Petroleum revises its Albanian oil reserves – (Balkans) Bankers Petroleum Ltd. announced the results of its December 31, 2012 independent reserves evaluation. Evaluations were conducted by RPS Energy Canada for the Patos-Marinza oilfield, Albania and by DeGolyer and McNaughton Canada Ltd…

ČEZ investment abroad at CZK 72bn, has problems in Albania – (Prague daily Monitor) Prague, Feb 17 (CTK) - Czech energy group CEZ has made Kc72bn worth of foreign investments since 2005, when it launched foreign expansion, and all of them bring the expected return on investment except for Albania, CEZ spokeswoman Barbora Pulpanova has said…

Bulgaria

Bulgarian protests for cheaper energy intensify – (Reuters) Tens of thousands of people marched in cities across Bulgaria on Sunday, demanding an end to high utility bills and new voting rules after the government was toppled last week…

Bulgaria's Current Parliament Must Finish Work on Energy Act Amendments – Outgoing Minister – (Novinite) Outgoing Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev has insisted that Bulgaria's Parliament finish work on a set of proposed amendments to the Energy Act in its remaining few weeks in office…

Bulgaria energy watchdog to announce details over revoking CEZ license – (Focus) Bulgaria’s State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) unanimously adopted the decisions for initiating a procedure for revoking the license of CEZ Electro Bulgaria and CEZ Distribution Bulgaria…

All 6 Members of Bulgaria's Energy Watchdog Have Resigned – (Novinite) All six members of Bulgaria's State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) have resigned last week, according to the press center of the watchdog…

Chaos in Bulgarian energy – (World Nuclear News) An energy crisis has triggered mass demonstrations, the resignation of the Bulgarian government and cyber attacks on electricity distributor CEZ. A long-running failure to maintain generating capacity underlies the country's problems…

Green Energy and the Fall of the Bulgarian Government – (CATO) The Bulgarian government resigned on Wednesday after violent protests spread across the  country. The protesters complained about a variety of issues, including perceived government corruption and persistently low standards of living…

Change in Bulgaria's Energy Mix to Reduce Power Tariffs Substantially – NPP CEO – (Novinite) Valentin Nikolov, CEO of the Kozloduy NPP, has argued that a change in the energy mix could bring about a substantial reduction in electricity prices in Bulgaria…

Bulgaria: political turmoil could hit energy investors – (Beyondbrics) Bulgaria faces snap elections after Prime Minister Boyko Borisov’s 20 February resignation spurred by ten days of protests against electricity bills, which in January averaged €100…

Bosnia

150 kWp PV park completed in Bosnia and Herzegovina – (PV Magazine) A 150 kWp photovoltaic park has been completed and grid connected in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It is said to be one of the first projects of its kind in the country…

Bosnia's EPBiH 2012 profit at 3.6 mln euro, output at 6,509 GWh –(Hydro World) Bosnian power utility Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH) said on Thursday it posted a profit of 7.1 million marka ($4.8 million/3.6 million euro) in 2012…

Macedonia

Heavy rains flood homes, cut power and water supplies to villages in Macedonia – (Fox news) Three days of heavy rain have flooded hundreds of homes in eastern and central Macedonia, destroyed at least two bridges and cut off dozens of villages, causing power cuts and shortages of drinking water…

Lack of electricity encourages windmill projects in the region – (Setimes) Balkan countries are working on using wind as an alternative source of generating electricity and to satisfy EU accession requirements, experts said…

PPC losing millions due to power theft – (Ekathimerini) The phenomenon of electricity theft has grown out of control due to the economic crisis and the inability of many to pay their bills…

Montenegro

Montenegro needs to build power lines worth EUR 20mn in northern regions – (Hydro World) Montenegro needs to construct a network of 35 kV transmission lines in its river-rich north as soon as possible in order to connect the newly-built small hydropower plants to power utility EPCG 's grid, a report of Portalanalitika.me indicated…

Romania

ArcelorMittal to buy energy worth EUR 77 million from Romanian Nuclearelectrica – (Romania Insider) Steel producer ArcelorMittal Galati, the second biggest electricity consumer in Romania, reached a deal with Romanian power producer Nuclearelectrica to buy electricity worth EUR 76.9 million over the next year and a half…

Romanian car maker Dacia to enter green energy market with solar panels at factory – (Romanian Insider) Romanian car manufacturer Dacia is to install solar panels on the roof of the Mioveni car factory and will thus enter the local energy market, according to Ziarul Financiar…

Romania still ranks highly as a renewable energy investment hotspot – (Romanian Insider) Romania has regained its position in a ranking of renewable energy investment attractiveness and remains a favorite location for international projects…

5th international trade fair and conference on renewable energy and energy efficiency will be held from 6 to 8 March in Arad, Romania – (PV Magazine) The 5th international trade fair and conference on renewable energy and energy efficiency will be held from 6 to 8 March in Arad, Romania, in the border with Hungary and Serbia…

Romania plans reduced support for solar energy – (Reuters) Romania aims to lower subsidies for some renewable energy projects from 2014, trying to avoid overcompensating investors while burdening consumers with high power bills…

Support for renewable energy in Romania to be trimmed down as of 2014 – (Power Engineering)  Romania's power market regulator ANRE will complete within several weeks the annual evaluation of the renewable energy support scheme and will recommend reduction of the number of tradable certificates awarded to power producers, ANRE official Zoltan Nagy-Bege told a news conference as quoted by Ziarul Financiar daily…

Romanian energy regulator proposes green certificate reduction in solar and small-hydro from 2014 – (BR) Energy regulator (ANRE) will propose the government to reduce starting next year the green certificates allotted for photo-voltaic projects and small-hydro power plants, as these investments become profitable faster…

Serbia

Serbia Expects to Pay $916 Million in Feed-In Tariffs by 2020 – (Bloomberg) Serbia expects to pay 700 million euros ($916 million) by 2020 in incentives for electricity made from renewable sources, the energy minister said…

Belgium company, Electrawinds, begins bioenergy production in Serbia – (Balkans) Belgium-based renewable energy company Electrawinds has begun operations at a new rendering plant in Serbia after a year and a half of construction…

South Stream pipe a priority for Serbia – (UPI) The Serbian government said it passed a measure Thursday that gives Gazprom and state-owned Srbijagas access to land to build the South Stream gas pipeline…

Armenia

Pure energy company and Electrosevkavmontazh LLC to explore pure energy field in Armenia – (ARKA) YEREVAN, February 21. /ARKA/. Pure Energy nongovernmental organization signed yesterday a cooperation memorandum with Electrosevkavmontazh LLC to contribute to the process of democratization of energy area in Armenia, the Pure Energy organization’s press office reports…

Azerbaijan

Azerbaijani energy companies to be restructured in accord with EU Third Energy Package requirements – (abc.az) Today Baku hosts the III meeting of the Committee on the Memorandum of Understanding on Strategic Partnership in the field of Energy between Azerbaijan and the European Union…

Azerbaijan, Iran discuss joint use of hydroelectric power stations – (Trend) The Iranian and Azerbaijani working groups have discussed the technical and legal issues associated with the use of the Khudaferin and Maiden Tower dams, spokesman for the Iranian Embassy in Azerbaijan Mohammad Ayatollahi told Trend today…

Azerbaijan exports 0.5 percent of generated electricity in Jan – (Trends) Azerbaijan exported 11.33 million kilowatt/hours of electricity upon a customs declaration in January 2013, the Azerbaijani State Customs…

94% of export falls to share of energy carriers in Azerbaijan – (APA) In January this year, most of export operations conducted from Azerbaijan fell to share of crude oil, oil products and natural gas…

Azerbaijani thermoelectric power station generates over 8 BN kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2012 – (Trend) The Azerbaijani thermoelectric power station generated 8.13 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity in 2012, Azerenergy, (production and distribution of electricity in Azerbaijan) said today…

Fuel consumption for power generation in Azerbaijan falls to 225.3 g of oil equivalent – (abc.az) The State Statistics Committee reports that efficiency of Azerbaijan’s electric power industry continued to grow in 2012…

Georgia

Georgia completes work within Black Sea Transmission Network project – (Trend) Georgian Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Kakha Kaladze reviewed an electric substation at Akhaltsikhe (South Georgia) and…

Peri Hydropower Plants to Generate Eight Percent of Energy in Georgia – (Financial) Four hydropower plants, one built by American investment and the others by Peri Ltd will produce 700 million kW/hour of electricity, which is 8 percent of the energy used in Georgia. As a result the local budget will have GEL 2 million extra contributed to it annually…

SOCAR launches modern gas stations in Georgia – (APA) State Oil Company of Azerbaijan has launched more 2 gas stations in Georgia to meet the demand of Georgian population…

Indian company to build HPP in Georgia – (Trend) Georgian Energy and Natural Resources Minister Kakha Kaladze has met with representatives of the company.. As the Georgian Ministry told ...

Russia

Shale gas is no threat to Russia’s energy dominance with Europe – (The Voice of Russia) Russia should just ignore America’s machinations into European-Russian relations; their inevitability is equalled only by their increasing irrelevance. What Russia must seriously contemplate and reassess is its long-term economic and national security in its trouble-prone relations with Europe…

Gazprom working to expand Nord Stream – (UPI) An industry official said Russian energy company Gazprom is working to form a joint venture that would oversee pipeline Nord Stream's expansion… 

Russia plans to curb Gazprom's domestic gas tariffs – (Reuters) Gazprom's gas prices for Russian industrial users will fall by 3 percent in the second quarter, the first drop in years as analysts say the government tries to curb the company's overblown spending…

Coal Mine Blast Kills 18 in Russia – (Energy Digital) A devastating coal mine blast in northern Russia this morning left 18 people dead. Thus far, ten bodies have been recovered from the Vorkutinskaya mine, an officer at the Russian interior Ministry told the Associated Press…

Tula Utility Chief Faces Legal Action for Breaking Russia’s Energy Laws – (OOSKA) The managing director of the vodokanal (water company) in Russia’s Tula Region has been charged personally with allowing his company to consistently break new laws relating to energy conservation…

More Heads Roll Over Hiked Utilities Rates in Russia – (RIA Novosti) Two senior Russian regional officials were fired on Wednesday after President Vladimir Putin criticized the level of hikes in utilities tariffs…

Power grids tasked with cost containment – (Utility Products) The Energy Ministry has worked out a five-year strategy for Russian Grids, a company to be formed by merging Federal Grid Company of Unified Energy System (FGC UES) and IDGC Holding…

Turkey

Turkey has granted 39 licenses to generate electricity from waste materials – (Balkans) Turkey’s Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) has given 39 licenses to facilities that generate electricity from waste materials, said Energy Minister Taner Yıldız reports Hurriyet…

Turkey’s wind 'not blowing enough' – (Daily News) Turkey lags far behind developed countries when it comes to generating wind energy, while the world’s wind energy leaders, China and the United States, installed more than 13,000 megawatts (MW) of new capacity last year, according to statistics released by the Global Wind Energy Council (GWEC)…

Siemens to Power 600MW Coal-Fired Plant in Samsun, Turkey – (Energy Tribune) Germany-based Siemens will power the Samsun Cengiz Enerji coal-fired plant in Turkey with a single-shaft power island with H-Class technology…

Turkey determined to run for electric car race – (Daily News) Turkish state institutions are set to provide full support to local electric car production as Turkey’s science agency will provide 100 percent in research aid while the Science Ministry is promising to buy 200 electric cars over five years…

TURKEY: Tipping Point for Offshore Exploration – (Oil Price) An agreement between Shell and Turkey’s national oil company (TPAO) for western Black Sea exploration will start the ball rolling for Turkey’s energy ambitions. We’ve been waiting for that one ‘big find’. This is where it will be…

Turkey holds its breath for shale gas and syngas – (Daily News) New findings are spurring hopes in Turkey’s search for new energy resources, following the energy minister’s recent announcement that indications of possible shale gas resources had been found in the Central Anatolian provinces of Ankara, Konya and Kırşehir…

Ukraine

Ukraine wants World Bank funds for Urengoi-Pomary-Uzhgorod gas pipeline modernization – (Kyiv Post) Ukraine is looking to bring the World Bank on board to help finance the modernization of the Urengoi-Pomary-Uzhgorod trunk gas pipeline, the overall price tag on which is an estimated $1.024 billion…

Bloomberg Businessweek: Cub Energy to add Ukrainian gas assets as 60 percent expansion targeted – (Kyiv Post) Cub Energy Inc. (KUB), a Canadian natural gas producer in Ukraine, plans to buy more assets in the country this year as it targets a 60 percent increase in output, the company’s largest shareholder said…

Ukraine: billionaire Akhmetov seeks partner for offshore energy project – (Beyondbrics) If you’re an international energy major eyeing opportunities in Ukraine, you may want to speak with DTEK, the energy group owned by Rinat Akhmetov, the nation’s richest man…

EU Will Help Ukraine Diversify Gas Supplies - Ukrainian Energy Minister – (PR Newswire) The European Union will assist Ukraine in diversifying natural gas supplies, noted today Ukraine's Minister of Energy and Coal Eduard Stavytskyi at the 16th EU-Ukraine Summit in Brussels.  According to the minister, this should influence the current price Ukraine is paying for Russian gas…

Commissioner: Ukraine's membership of Energy Community mainly in line with country's own interests – (Kyoiv Post) The systematic adherence to reforms under Energy Community Treaty will have positive improvements for Ukraine's energy security and independence, European Commissioner for Energy Gunther Oettinger has said…

Ukraine seeks spot supply from Europe to replace Russian gas – (Kyiv Post) Ukraine wants to import up to 8 billion cubic metres of gas a year from central Europe to replace expensive Russian supplies and take advantage of lower prices on the European spot market, a senior energy official said on Tuesday, Feb.26…

Ukraine looking to agree delivery of 7 bcm of gas via Hungary, Slovakia in 2013 – (Interfax) Ukraine plans to sign agreements for the reverse delivery of natural gas from Germany through Hungary and Slovakia in the amount of 7 billion cubic meters (bcm) this year, the deputy chief of national oil and gas company Naftogaz Ukrainy, Vadym Chuprun, has said…

Activ Solar commissions 29MW PV plant in Ukraine – (PV Tech) Austrian PV project developer Activ Solar has commissioned its 29.3MW Voznesensk Solar Power Station located in the Mykolaiv region in Ukraine…

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