Albania

Albania President Nishani announces cabinet nominations – (NZWeek) Upon proposal of Premier Sali Berisha, President of Albania Bujar Nishani announced a series of cabinet member nominations on Thursday…

Credins Bank Albania will expand its financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency – (Balkans) IFC, a member of the World Bank Group, with the support of the Government of Canada, is helping Credins Bank Albania expand its financing of renewable energy and energy efficiency projects, promoting the efficient use of resources  and reducing greenhouse gas emissions…

Bulgaria

Law Files Against Bulgaria from EVN and CEZ – (FriedINews) The developments in Bulgaria in the recent months with mass protests, early elections and the cut in energy prices have all had negative effects on the power companies in Bulgaria…

Bulgaria’s energy watchdog is inefficient body – (Focus) “Several shortcomings were registered in the activity and work of the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC),” said Kamen Mihov, Deputy Prosecutor General, speaking at a press conference, FOCUS News Agency reporter informed…

Bulgaria May Connect to Central European Power Grids – (Novinite) Hungary has invited Bulgaria to join the project for connecting the power grids of central European countries…

Bulgarian Prosecutor Seeks Criminal Probe of CEZ Utility – (Bloomberg Business Week) CEZ AS, (CEZ) the Czech Republic’s largest power producer, may face a criminal investigation in Bulgaria as it fights the energy regulator’s effort to revoke its license…

Bulgaria and Hungary Enter into Energy Alliance – (Standart) Bulgaria will enter into a new energy alliance with Hungary and three other central European countries. Bulgaria has received an invitation to join in the project during the meeting of President Rosen Plevneliev with his Hungarian colleague Janos Ader in Budapest…

Losses of Power Distributors in Bulgaria Due to EU Renewable Energy Requirements – Watchdog Chair – (Novinite) Evgenia Haritonova, Chair of the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR), has suggested that Bulgaria is not to blame for the losses of power distributors…

CEZ Bulgaria’s energy ombudsman receives 172 signals – (Focus) Energy ombudsman of CEZ power distribution company, Radoslav Dimitro, has received some 172 signals from subscribers since he assumed the post on March 11, 2013, the press office of the company announced…

Bulgaria, UK to Cooperate Closely on Nabucco Pipeline Project – (Novinite) Bulgarian caretaker Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Marin Raykov told British Ambassador Jonathan Allen Tuesday that the two countries could cooperate closely on the implementation of the Nabucco gas pipeline project, stressing the importance of the scheme for Europe's energy security…

Bulgaria Launches 5 Criminal Proceedings in Energy Sector – (Novinite) Bulgaria's National Electric Company, has committed a number of breaches, mostly related to the production of excessive quantities of electric power, the prosecution probe has concluded…

Croatia

Regional countries strive for gasification – (Setimes) In an effort to achieve energy stability and combat high electricity prices, several countries in the region are turning to gasification…

Macedonia

Public Power Corporation S.A. Annual Financial – (Power Engineering) The increase in PPC's retail market share, combined with lower generation from the gas-fired units of PPC, only partly offset by a slight increase of hydro power…

Montenegro

Power-hungry SKA dishes may be a grid too far – (BDLive) COUNTRIES involved in the Square Kilometre Array (SKA) cannot afford to fund the power needed by the mammoth radio telescope from national grids, Lourdes Verdes-Montenegro, extragalactic scientist at Spain’s Instituto de Astrofisica de Andalucia, says…

Romania

Energy firm Repower’s Romanian sales go up in 2012, but profits down 43% at group level – (Romania Insider) International energy firm Repower has reported an increase in sales in Romania during 2012. The energy group, which specializes in renewables, performed well locally with Romanian sales volumes up by 7 percent last year. New legislation will make the Romanian market “even more buoyant in 2013,” according to Repower’s annual report for 2012…

Romania’s energy authority proposes cut in green certificates renewable energy incentive scheme – (Romania Insider) Investors are being overcompensated in Romania by the green certificates scheme for renewable energy projects, according to the country’s energy authority ANRE…

Report finds that only 5% of Romania’s buildings are energy efficient – (Romania Insider) Only 5 percent of the buildings erected in Romania after 1990 are considered energy efficient, found a recent report issued by the Green Buildings Association in Romania, in partnership with NAI Romania and Construction21…

Romania plans to temporarily cut in half subsidies energy consumers pay for clean power – (Balkans) Romania plans to temporarily cut in half subsidies energy consumers pay for clean power by holding back one in every two green certificates it currently awards to utilities for generating electricity from wind turbines…

Chevron: European shale in early stage – (UPI) It may be at least a decade before Chevron starts to see benefits of European shale natural gas development, the company's regional vice president said…

EU emissions drop shows need for carbon market reform – (The Carbon Brief) EU emissions fell by 1.4 per cent in 2012, according to new European Commission data. While that may sound like good news, some analysts say it really shows the extent of the problems with the EU's carbon trading scheme…

Serbia

"South Stream construction isn't obstructed in Serbia" – (B92) Minister of Energy Zorana Mihajlović dismissed the speculations that someone from the government is hindering the construction of the South Stream gas pipeline…

Serbia Electric Company Facing Massive Debt – (Eurasia Review) Experts said that an infusion of capital or a price increase is the only way to keep the Electric Power Company of Serbia from failing…

The Electric Power Company of Serbia plans to revitalize 15 small hydroelectric power stations – (Balkans) The Electric Power Company of Serbia (EPS) plans to revitalize 15 small hydroelectric power stations in its possession and to build eight new ones, the management of that company confirmed in a release…

Gazprom Signs First Long-Term Gas Sales Contract With Serbia – (Bloomberg) Russia’s Gazprom OAO (GAZP) and Serbia’s Srbijagas JP signed a contract on natural-gas sales to the Balkan country through 2021 as Gazprom announced it may invest in gas-fired power plants in Serbia…

Armenia

EU insisting on sooner decommissioning of Armenian NPP – (ARKA) The EU continues insisting on sooner decommissioning of the Armenian NPP, Traian Hristea, Head of EU Delegation to Armenia, said reading the report on Armenia’s progress in implementing the programs of European Neighborhood Policy Armenia-EU…

Azerbaijan

Washington conference highlights Azerbaijan’s role in global energy projects – (Azernews) Azerbaijan's role in regional and global energy projects and its increasing role in Europe's energy security were in focus of a key conference in the United States…

EU-Azerbaijan Energy Memo expands – (abc.az) Baku, Fineko/abc.az. Work over expansion of the EU-Azerbaijan Memorandum of Understanding in the field of energy (this work was launched in Baku on 20 February 2013 at the 3rd meeting on Memo realization) is underway…

Azerbaijan aims to boost alternative energy sector – (Azernews) The establishment of the State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources as well as accession of Azeralternativenerji Ltd. to it creates opportunities in alternative energy and therefore requires the necessary infrastructure, an energy market source told Trend news agency…

Azerbaijan gets ready for active development of alternative energy – (Trend) The source said the establishment of the Agency, as well as accession of Azeralternativenerji Ltd. creates opportunities in alternative energy…

Georgia

Georgian Energy Minister discussed Khudoni HPP construction – (Daily News) Minister of Energy and Natural Resources of Georgia Kakha Kaladze met with representatives of the State Bank of India and "Trans Electric", the investing company of Khudoni HPP, on Wednesday. The parties discussed the details of the project…

ADB strengthens partnership with Georgian government – (Georgia Today) Vice President of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Xiaoyu Zhao, concluded a three-day visit to Georgia, where he met with government officials and discussed the country’s development goals, ADB’s assistance and a collaborative partnership…

SOCAR to supply gas to 30,000 more Georgian citizens this year – (AzerNews) Azerbaijani state oil company SOCAR will continue gasification of Georgia in 2013, Georgia Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze said on Tuesday…

Will Georgia stay as a net importer of electricity in 2013? – (Georgia Today) For the first time since 2007 Georgia is a net electricity importer. Last year the total electricity generated declined by 4% and a 1.3% increase in total internal demand was observed. What should we expect from 2013?..

SOCAR continues Georgia’s gasification – (Trend) SOCAR (State Oil Company of Azerbaijan) will continue gasification of Georgia in 2013, the Minister of Energy of Georgia Kakha Kaladze said on Tuesday. Some 30,000 people will be provided with gas this year.

Russia

Russia's March crude output edges up 1% on year to 10.42 mil b/d – (Platts) Russia's crude oil output in March reached 44.257 million mt, or 10.422 million b/d, up 1% year on year, according to preliminary data released Tuesday by the Central Dispatching Unit, which is part of the country's energy ministry…

E.ON Russia sees electricity output flat in 2013 – (Reuters) E.ON Russia, the Russian arm of German utility E.ON, expects its electricity production to be roughly the same level this year as in 2012, its deputy head Ulf Backmeyer said on Tuesday…

Russia's RusHydro swings to IFRS net loss of 25.5 bln rbl in 2012 – (Hydro World) MOSCOW, Apr 1 (PRIME) — Top Russian hydropower company RusHydro posted a net loss of 25.5 billion rubles in 2012 against a net profit of 29.5 billion rubles in 2011, as calculated under International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), the company said in a report Monday, as cited by RIA Novosti…

Turkey

Turkey: Electricity market law introduces new incentives – (Balkans) The Ministry of Finance will be able to sell the BOT asset to the operator at the end of the concession period based on its market price…

Turkey's largest solar power plant built – (Trend) Turkey's largest solar power plant with a capacity of 500 kilowatts was built in the province of Burdur, Zaman newspaper reported on Tuesday…

Turkey: Akfen Holding's installed renewable energy capacity increased to 159.1 MW – (Balkans) PAK Enerji, a subsidiary of Akfenhes Yatirimlari, a subsidiary of Akfen Holding, obtained provisional acceptance for the 8.9 MW (annual generation capacity of 48.2 GWh) KAVAKCALI HEPP project from the Ministry of Energy…

Turkish dignitaries meet ILCC wind energy experts – (The Daily Reporter) Dignitaries from the Republic of Turkey were in Estherville Thursday to learn more about the Wind Energy and Turbine Technology program at Iowa Lakes Community College…

Russia Builds PR for Turkey’s First Nuclear Plant – (Energy Tribune) A Russian firm is set to build Turkey’s first nuclear power plant. But before the foundation has been poured they are working first on building public support for the new plant in a country not confident the benefits of nuclear power outweigh the risks…

Ukraine

Ukraine moving away from Russian gas – (UPI) Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine are down more than 20 percent for the first two months of the year compared to 2012, the government said…

DTEK extracts almost half of all coal in Ukraine – (Kyiv Post) The share of total coal extraction of mines under the control of the largest private energy holding in Ukraine – DTEK – in the first quarter of 2013 came to 48.1%, read materials of the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry of Ukraine…

Ukraine reduces Russian gas imports by another 1/4^th – (RT) The supply of Russian gas to Ukraine fell 23.2 percent in January and February compared to the same period last year, the Ukrainian Energy and Coal Industry Ministry has reported…

Ukraine Looks to Poland for More Gas – (Energy Tribune) Ukraine’s natural gas shipper said that April marks the start of a break from Russia as more supplies start coming in from nearby Poland.

State natural gas shipper UkrTransGaz said that, as of Monday, it increased imports by pipeline from Poland by 150 percent to more than 170 million cubic feet per day…

Gas price cap for Ukrainian industry will not change from April 2013 – (Interfax) Ukraine's National Commission for Energy Regulation (NCER) will leave unchanged the price cap on natural gas for industrial and associated consumers, and also for budget-sustained organizations, in April 2013…

Ukraine doubles solar capacity in 2012 – (Kyiv Post) The installed capacity of solar power plants in Ukraine operating on a feed-in tariff in 2012 doubled (by 183.4 MW), to 371.6 MW, according to an annual report by the National Commission for Energy Regulation (NCER)…

Azarov: Ukraine may increase electricity exports to Hungary – (Kyiv Post) 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, the Ukrainian government's press service has reported…

Ukrenergo To Auction Capacity For Export Of 3.5 GW Of Electricity In May – (ELP) On April 9, the Ukrenergo national power company (Kyiv) will auction access to power transmission lines with a total capacity of 3.5 gigawatts for exporting electricity in May…

DTEK connects additional power units, puts off repairs due to fire at Vuhlehirska plant – (Kyiv Post) Kyiv – Ukraine's largest private vertically integrated energy holding DTEK has connected to the integrated power grids of Ukraine all its power units working on Zh brand coal, and put off all the repairs because of an accident at Vuhlehirska Thermal Power Plant operated by PJSC Centrenergo (Svitlodarsk, Donetsk region), DTEK's press service reported…

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.