Europe & Eurasia Energy News Articles for March 29, 2013
March 29th, 2013
Energy Technology and Governance Program
Weekly collection of energy news articles for the region. Click on the links for access to original publications.
Albania
Shala Energy secures approval for 127.6MW hydro project in Albania (Energy Business Review) -Power developer Shala Energy has secured an approval from the Albanian Ministry of Economy, Trade and Energy for its 127.6MW hydroelectric project. Shala entered into a concession agreement with the ministry to procure the rights for construction and operation of the hydropower plant for 35 years…
127.6MW Albanian hydro plant to be operational 2018- (HydroWorld) New hydropower capacity is expected to come on line in Albania in 2018. The country's economy ministry has signed a concession agreement with Shala Energy to build a 127.6MW hydropower plant cascade on the Shala river in the north...
Albanian Parliament ratifies Intergovernmental Agreement on TAP (Trend)-The Albanian Parliament ratified the Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) between Albania, Italy and Greece on the construction and operation of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP) project, TAP reported on Tuesday...
CEZ 4th-Quarter Profit Falls 52% on Albania, Power Prices (Bloomberg) The largest Czech power producer, said fourth-quarter profit slumped 52 percent after its operations in Albania were seized and because of lower electricity production. Net income fell to 6.9 billion koruna ($354 million) from 14.4 billion koruna a year earlier, the Prague-based utility said today in a statement...
Bulgaria
Bulgaria's Energy Watchdog to Announce Q2, 2013 Gas Prices (Novinite) Bulgaria's State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) is to announce Thursday gas prices for the second quarter of 2013. State-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz has requested a decrease of 3.2% in gas rates as of April 1...
Bulgaria to allocate BGN63mln for energy efficiency (Focus) Some BGN 63 million are planned for energy efficiency in this program period, announced Bulgarian interim Minister of Regional Development and Public Works Ekaterina Zaharieva, FOCUS News Agency reporter informed. “Some BGN 50 million of the sum will go for gratuitous financial aid, while BGN 13 million for low-interest crediting,”...
Renewable Energy Producers in Bulgaria Are Being Scapegoated – BPVA Chair (Novinite) Nikola Gazdov, Chair of the Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association (BPVA), has said that renewable energy producers have been made to carry the blame for the problems plaguing the energy sector…Vasilev, argued that 40% of all renewable energy plants had to be temporarily disconnected because they had been functioning in breach of legal requirements for some nine months...
2 Banks Offer EUR 250 M Loan to Bulgarian Energy Holding (Novinite) Deutsche Bank and Citi Group have declared their readiness to provide a loan of up to EUR 250 M to the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), according to a media statement posted on the website of BEH....
Bulgarian Energy Minister Hints at Regulatory Changes, Senior-Level Reshuffle (Novinite) Bulgaria's caretaker Economy and Energy Minister Asen Vasilev has said that the country's energy sector needs a set of urgent measures, including regulatory changes and a senior-level reshuffle at state-owned companies...
Experts with DGs Energy, Competition to asses Bulgaria’s energy price formation system (Focus) “Right after the Easter holidays, experts with the DG Energy and DG Competition with the European Commission (EC) will be commissioned to the Bulgarian Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism and the state energy watchdog to make an assessment of the system,”...
Bulgaria to adopt electricity balancing market rules by 15 April - minister (ICIS) Bulgaria will adopt all necessary rules for the start of the country's electricity balancing market by 15 April...According to one trader, the balancing market could officially launch from 1 May, but there remain uncertainties that must be clarified beforehand: "For example, we are still trying to find out whether or not you [as a trader] need to have a balancing group in order to be able to transit electricity."...
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bosnia and Herzegovina : EBRD agrees to co-fund construction of BOSNIA's hydro-electric plants (HydroWorld) With a total of EUR 35 million, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) will be co-funding the construction of the Vranduk hydro-electric plant on the Bosna river along with the expansion of the Kostela hydro-electric plant on the Una river...
Bosnia's EPBiH to expropriate land for HPP Vranduk project (HydroWorld) Bosnian state-owned power utility Elektroprivreda BiH (EPBiH) said on Tuesday it has started a procedure for expropriation of land where it plans to build hydropower plant (HPP) Vranduk. EPBiH has invited land owners to transfer consensually the ownership rights, the utility said in a statement...
Croatia
Croatia to have new excise duties on gas, energy products with its EU entry (Dalje) With its entry to the European Union on 1 July, Croatia will start applying the system of excise duties on energy products and electricity in compliance with European Union regulations, and during its adjustment to the EU standards, Croatia has been given the right to exempt households from paying levies on gas supplies and electricity...
Project launched to help 10 schools in Croatia reduce their electricity bills (CroatianTimes) Croatian operator Hrvatski Telekom and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) launched a project whose aim is to help 10 schools in Croatia reduce their electricity bills by equipping them with photovoltaic systems...
Croatia's HEP plans to build 2.6 MW Peruca SHPP by end-2015 (HydroWorld) Croatian state-owned power utility group HEP plans to build the 2.6 megawatt (MW) small hydro power plant (SHPP) Peruca by the end of 2015...The design concept for SHPP Peruca has been completed and a preliminary permit for its construction has been obtained as part of the larger project for the reconstruction of the Peruca dam....
Croatia's HEP plans to build 1.15 MW Prancevici SHPP by Apr 2015 (HydroWorld) Croatian state-owned power utility group HEP is planning to build the 1.15 megawatt (MW) small hydro power plant (SHPP) Prancevici on the river Cetina by early April 2015...Construction could start as early as August this year, assuming that the general contractor to build the facility can be selected by that time..
Kosovo
Government responds to corruption protests (SETimes) Kosovo citizens are undertaking peaceful action to push the government to be accountable, and the efforts are beginning to yield results, experts said. What began as protests against erroneous energy bills from the Kosovo Electric Corporation, and the government's failure to act on them, turned into a series of protests against corruption...
Romania
Romanian thermal energy producer to be privatized (BBJ) Bucharest’s thermal energy producer Electrocentrale Bucuresti (Elcen) will be privatized after its merger with thermal energy distribution company RADET either via concession, similarly to the contracts with Veolia for Bucharest’s water company Apa Nova in 1999...
Pauna, WB: Energy remains most attractive sector in Romania (ACTMedia) Romania remains attractive to foreign investors and higher productivity increases are expected, compared to other countries in the region, said on Thursday Catalin Pauna, an World Bank economist...The most attractive investment sector is energy, especially renewable energy, where investors can recover their money more rapidly'…
Romanian market regulator to tackle renewable energy support cut-down this week.(Power Eng) Romania's energy market regulator ANRE will discuss the annual evaluation of the country's renewable energy support scheme on Friday, March 30, when it will also consider trimming down the size of the support given to investors in the sector...
Report: Romanian micro hydro power plants – wrecking, not saving the environment (Romania-Insider) Romania’s micro hydro power plants in the Fagaras mountains have been included among the nine case studies of the most non-sustainable dams for the environment listed by World Wide Fund for Nature in the recent study Seven Sins on Dam Building....
Romania's Hidroelectrica sells nearly 0.3TWh of electricity on free market. (HydroWorld) Romanian state-controlled hydropower company Hidroelectrica sold on Thursday, March 21, in several separate contracts a total of 0.3TWh of baseload electricity deliverable between April 1 and the end of the year, the country's power grid operator...
Serbia
Gazprom cuts Serbia gas price by 13% under long-term gas deal (Economic Times) Russia's gas export monopoly Gazprom has agreed to a 13 percent cut in the price of natural gas it sells to Serbian gas monopoly Srbijagas through 2021, Gazprom Chief Executive Alexei Miller said on Wednesday....
Gazprom to provide gas supplies to Serbia (Penn Energy) Led by Alexey Miller, Chairman of the Gazprom Management Committee the Company's delegation paid a visit today to the Republic of Serbia...The parties addressed the status of the Russian-Serbian cooperation in the energy sector, paying special attention to the progress with the South Stream project execution....
Canadian partners interested in construction of new hydro power plants in Serbia (Serbia Times) Serbian Minister of Energy, Environmental Development and protection Zorana Mihajlovic announced that agreements for investments in the construction of new power plants in Serbia will be signed soon. Ministry is talking with Canadian, Chinese and Arab partners for Bistrica and Djerdap HPPs....
Armenia
Armenian government releases terms to shut down Metsamor NPP (APA) National Security Council Secretary Arthur Baghdasaryan said that Metsamor NPP could be closed only after the construction of the new power block. To him, the issue on conservation of the NPP will be considered after the new modern power block is commissioned...
Armenia to close current npp after building new power bloc : National Security Council head (ARKA) Armenia will close its NPP as soon as the new power bloc is constructed, Artur Baghdasaryan, Chairman of Armenia’s National Security Council....“Only after the new and modern power bloc is built, we will consider decommissioning of the old one, and the EU understands our position,” ...
New seismic stations to be placed around Armenian NPP (Trend) New seismic stations to be placed around the NPP are already in Armenia, the chief of the National Seismic Protection Service MOE Hrachya Petrosyan said at a meeting of the Ministry of Emergency Situations...According to him, the new stations will soon be placed around the plant, that is the present old stations will be replaced by modern digital ones...
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan proposes to test operation of Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant in extremal situation (APA) Director of the Institute of radiation problems of the Azerbaijani National Academy of Sciences Adil Garibov has proposed to test the operation of Metsamor NPP not in normal but in extremal situation. Garibov told APA that only standard tests have been carried out on Metsamor NPP up to now, but 9-magnitude earthquake resistance of the NPP has not been verified...
Nabucco submits plans to Azeri gas group (UPI) The Nabucco West natural gas pipeline is the most competitive project for the Shah Deniz consortium in Azerbaijan... Nabucco Gas Pipeline International GmbH announced it submitted a pipeline support decision package that contains elements that it says shows the proposal is a win-win situation for shippers and producers alike...
SOCAR installs first charging station for electric vehicles in Switzerland (Trend) SOCAR Energy Switzerland has installed a quick charging station for electric vehicles on road A-1 in the direction of Bern within the EVite project of the Swiss eMobility Association,...According to the report, charging takes about 20 minutes and is available to drivers of electric vehicles free of charge....
Azerbaijan increases 20-fold power export for February ( ABC.az) Azerbaijan increased 19.5-fold the export of electric power for February versus January 2013. The State Customs Committee reported that according to electric meters’ data for this February electric power export from the country totaled 9.2 million kWh versus 10.917 million kWh in January...
Georgia
GIOGIE Energy Forum 2013 starts in Tbilisi (Trend) A two-day energy forum within a conference and exhibition in Georgia, GIOGIE 2013 started in Tbilisi on Tuesday. Vice Prime Minister, Energy Minister of Georgia Kakha Kaladze made the opening speech at the event. The new Georgian government supports all energy projects which have been outlined in the past and especially are of regional character...
Minister: Current electricity tariffs in Georgia to be kept (Trend) An agreement will be reached with the Telasi Company for four years and for two years with the Energo-Pro Georgia Company in connection with the preservation of the existing electricity tariff, Georgian Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze said after a government meeting today...
Russia
Finland Needs 64% Power Price Jump to Secure Russia Imports (Bloomberg) Finnish electricity prices need to rise by 64 percent from last year’s average to attract imports from Russia after flows into the Nordic country slumped to the lowest level since 1997, an academic said. Prices above 60 euros ($78) a megawatt-hour for a period of at least four hours would encourage flows from Finland’s eastern neighbor....
Russian FinMin says no to profit-based taxation of oil firms (Reuters) The Russian Finance Ministry said it opposes a proposed shift to a profit-based tax for oil companies rather than taxing output and exports, because its priority is to maximise revenue for state coffers. Russian tax authorities have long relied on counting barrels to ensure steady revenues...
Turkey
Turkey has increased its installed electricity capacity to 58,000 MW (Balkans) Turkey has increased its installed electricity capacity to 58,000 megawatts (MW) by adding a capacity of around 5,000 MW every year since 2008, according to Energy Market Regulatory Authority (EPDK) President Hasan Köktaş reports Hurriyet...
Oil and gas exploration allowed in Turkish forests and national parks (Trend) The Turkish parliament has ratified a bill that authorizes oil and gas exploration in the country's forests and national parks, CNN Turk TV channel said on Friday. According to the bill, Turkey will be divided according to the hydrocarbon reserves into 18 areas....
Ukraine
Energy Minister: Ukraine buys almost no Russian gas in March (Kyiv Post) Ukraine bought almost no gas from Russia this month due to the as yet unsettled pricing issue, Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Minister Eduard Stavytsky said. "We are in negotiations with our Russian colleagues. But I want to mention that throughout March we purchased virtually no gas from Russian territory. This is primarily because the issue relative to the pricing position has not been resolved,"...
Ukraine may increase electricity exports to Hungary by 2.5 times, says Azarov (Interfax) At the request of Hungary, Ukraine may increase its electricity supplies to the country by 2-2.5 times, Ukrainian Prime Minister Mykola Azarov said at a meeting with Hungarian President Janos Ader...Azarov thanked the Hungarian side for their decision to allow Ukraine to start importing the natural gas purchased on the European spot markets through the territory of Hungary...
Nuclear Safety Plan Has Ukrainians Worried (IPS) A 300 million euro loan to improve nuclear safety in the Ukraine has been attacked by environmental groups who say it will instead be used to keep ageing reactors working well beyond their planned lifespans – increasing the risks of a nuclear accident – while doing nothing to address serious issues with the country’s energy intensity...
Foreign Ministry: Kyiv not planning to quit Energy Community (Kyiv Post) Ukraine is not to consider the issue of its withdrawal from the European Energy Community, the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry has said. "Participation in the Energy Community gives Ukraine a significant advantage in its relations with the EU, and naturally we will not consider leaving it," Acting Director of the Ministry's Information Policy Department Yevhen Perebyinis...
Ukraine Begins Importing Gas Via Hungary (Ukrainian Journal) Ukraine on Thursday Began Importing Natural Gas Via a Gas Pipeline in Hungary, making IT the Second Route for the Country's imports of European Gas, Prime MINISTER Mykola Azarov said. The Move underscores Ukraine's persistent Efforts to reduce imports of Russian Gas and to Increase imports of Gas from Elsewhere in order to Secure Greater Energy Independence...
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