Albania

Czech company CEZ seeks 190 million Euros in compensation from the Albanian government – (Independent Balkans News Agency) The power supply Czech company, CEZ has filed a lawsuit in the International Court of Arbitration against Albania, seeking compensation, after the Albanian government revoked its license, which entitled this company to supply the retail market with power…

Albanian control system of an EMS/Transmission System Operator launched by Italy's ABB – (Balkans) Albania's Prime Minister Sali Berisha attended the inauguration of the new TSO control, SCADA / EMS Dispatch Centre. This is one of the most important projects of the Transmission Operator, worth 17 million euros and is realized by the Italian company ABB…

Premier of Albania inaugurates one of the biggest projects of hydro power – (Independent Balkans News) Albania will soon turn into a leader in the region in the production of hydro power, declared Prime Minister Sali Berisha today during the ceremony of inauguration of the works for the construction of the hydro power station of Banjë in Elbasan…

Czech power group CEZ opens procedure against Albania – (Global Post) Czech state-run power giant CEZ said on Thursday it had launched arbitration proceedings against Albania to seek damages after the Balkan state revoked its local distribution licence… 

TAP vs. Nabucco West confrontation may end amicably – (Trend) In a month, the Shah Deniz consortium will make a final decision on an export route for transporting Azerbaijani gas to Europe…

Albania Aims to Export Electricity – (Fars News Agency) TEHRAN (FNA)- Albanian Prime Minister Sali Berisha said that Tirana is making efforts to become a power exporter…

Trans Adriatic Pipeline secures third party access exemption –(Independent Balkan News Agency) Following the approval from the relevant regulatory authorities in Italy, Greece and Albania, the European Commission has formally approved the Trans Adriatic Pipeline’s (TAP) application for Third Party Access (TPA) exemption for the initial capacity of 10bcm…

Bulgaria

Bulgaria’s caretaker Cabinet to table energy sector amendments – (Sofia Globe) Bulgaria’s caretaker Cabinet will table a bill of amendments to the country’s energy sector laws in Parliament, caretaker Prime Minister Marin Raykov said in Parliament on May 22…

Bulgaria's GERB: Energy Watchdog Must Be Elected by Parliament – (Novinite) Center-right party Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria (GERB) has proposed amendments to the Energy Act stipulating that the panel of the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) should be appointed by Parliament with a 2/3 majority and not by government…

Bulgarian energy firm BEH to meet investors for 250 mln Euro bond – (Reuters) Bulgaria's BEH, the state largest energy holding company, will meet with potential investors in its 250-million-euro ($321.81 million) bond issue in late July and early August, its chief executive said on Wednesday…

Bulgarians pay lowest energy prices in the EU – (Focus) Data by the European Commission (EC) shows Bulgaria tops the statistics on lowest electricity price in the EU, BNR reports. However, compared to Bulgarian citizens’ income, they are not that low, experts say…

Get Ready for More Energy Unrest in Bulgaria – (Oil Price) Protests over high energy prices brought down the Bulgarian government in February, and elections last week have brought back essentially the same government so we can expect continued protests and instability here…

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Nabucco gets consortium countries support – (BBJ) The Nabucco natural gas pipeline could be extended to supply countries across most of eastern and southeastern Europe, the governments of the consortium countries agreed on Tuesday…

Chinese wish to build power plant in Bosnia – (Dalje) Chinese Ambassador to Bosnia and Herzegovina Dong Chunfeng announced on Friday that the government of his country intended to invest around EUR 350 million in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the coming period, of which EUR 150 million would be earmarked for the construction of a new thermal power plant in Stanari near Doboj…

Croatia

Regional energy shortages require co-operation, analysts say – (SETimes) Balkan countries need to focus on joint projects that will harness water resources to improve the regional energy supply, analysts and experts said... 

Electrical industry backbone of industrial development – (Dalje) The electrical industry will be one of the backbones of industrial development in Croatia over the next few years, a panel discussion, "Why Croatia needs the electrical industry", heard on Wednesday, organised by unions in this field along with the Friedrich Ebert Foundation…

Kosovo

Kosova: London-Based Bank To Support Energy Efficiency – (UNPO) A €5 million (£3.3m) loan provided by a London-based bank will provide impetus to investing in in renewable projects and implementing energy efficiency measures in Kosova…

Çalik Limak acquires the Power Distribution – (Independent Balkan News) Pristina-Kosovo Çalik Limak Energy-KEDS is the new owner of 100% of the shares of the Power Distribution System, after the transfer has been finalized by the Government Committee for Privatization…

Macedonia

Construction of FYR Macedonia's – (Balkans) Cornerstone laying ceremony marked Saturday the start of the construction of  (FYR Macedonia's) "Bogdanci" wind park. This is the first wind park in (FYR) Macedonia which will provide pure energy from renewable source using the wind energy…

FYR Macedonia starts construction of first wind farm – (BBJ) FYR Macedonia’s state-owned power utility company ELEM has begun the construction of the country’s first wind farm in an investment worth €55 million…

Montenegro

Memorandum of Understanding Signed with Montenegro and Croatia for the Trans Adriatic Pipeline – (Independent Balkans News) The Council of Ministers in Albania ratified today the Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of Montenegro and Croatia for the realization of Trans Adriatic Pipeline and Adriatic Ionian Pipeline project…

Romania

Romania Changes Course on Renewable Energy – (New York Times) With more wind turbines already built than any of its neighbors, Romania has gained a reputation as a prime location for green energy investors…

Energy specialists gauged the potential impact of Romania's Black Sea gas – (Balkans) Energy specialists gauged the potential impact of Black Sea gas on the domestic market and outlined the future of the renewable sector at the fourth Focus on Energy event, organized last week by Business Review…

Romania's Ponta: 5 years till energy independence – (New Europe) "Energy is one of the two engines of growth for Romania, agriculture is the second, we have made important structural reforms and today in Brussels we would need a more coordinated European policy,"…

Judicial administrator of Romania’s biggest energy company Hidroelectrica fires 304 employees, including ex-CEO – (Romania Insider) The judicial administrator of insolvent energy company Hidroelectrica has made a shock move to fire more than 300 employees, including Hidroelectrica’s former CEO Traian Oprea…

Vosganian: Romania must expand its nuclear programme even if energy consumption is low right now – (Act Media) Romania must expand its nuclear programme even if right now is confronted with a drop in energy consumption and in the prices seen on OPCOM, in the context in which gas resources in the Black Sea basin are not sure to compensate for this yet, Economy Minister, Varujan Vosganian told a conference on nuclear energy…

Serbia

South Stream: A Fresh Element Of Russian-European Energy Cooperation? – (In Serbia) South Stream is a multinational gas pipeline project based on a strategic agreement between Gazprom (Russia) and ENI (Italy)…

First Solar Power Plant In Vojvodina – Construction Began – (In Serbia) The plant will have a capacity of 1 MW. It should be finished in three months and opened in September. Prima Energy form Slovakia is the investor. The plant will cover 2.5 hectares of land at a locaton named Tancos…

Who is compromising “South Stream” in Europe? – (Press TV) The third and fourth sections of Russia’s “South Stream” will be completed by 2018. However, supranational structures in Brussels and their representatives in Berlin still cannot set forth a predictable and unified position on this project of undisputed geopolitical importance…

Insider: South Stream in Serbia to be built by offshore firm – (b92) The construction of South Stream gas pipeline in Serbia has been announced as the “business of the century” by the Serbian authorities for the past three years…

Serb Minister says that the Trepçe agreement will not be altered – (Independent Balkans News) The Minister of Territorial Planning and Mining in the Serb government, Millan Bacevic said that the investment contract for the plant of “Trepçe” signed between the Serb government and the US company…

Armenia

Power Struggle: Villagers say HPPs being exploited at expense of their resources – (Armenia Now) Small hydropower plants built and yet to-be-built on rivers of Armenia have raised a discontent among the local population of Armenian provinces…

John Heffern: Armenia remains energy-import dependent – (Public Radio of Armenia) The U.S. Embassy in Armenia hosted the conference “The Future of Energy in Armenia: A Conference on Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency in Armenia…

Mini Hydro Plants Have Destroyed Armenia's Large River Eco-Systems – (hetq) Ever since Armenia regained independence the number of mini hydro-electric plants has increased by 136 from the 13 operating in the Soviet era…

Iranian gas much more expensive than Russian, Armenian energy minister says – (ARKA) Iranian gas will cost much more to Armenia than the Russian one, even if the price for the latter goes up, Armenia’s minister of energy and natural resources Armen Movsisyan said…

Discussions at National Assembly on Gas tariff to be closed – (Armenpress) The discussion of gas tariff to be held at the National Assembly on May 23 will be close…

ADB makes loan for Sevan-Hrazdan cascade modernization project – (Hydro World) JSC RusHydro has secured a US$25 million loan from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) that will be used for the modernization of hydropower projects in Armenia's Sevan-Hrazdan Cascade…

Armenia says Russian gas still preferable – (Peoples Daily Online) An Armenian minister said Wednesday that Russian gas remains a better option than Iranian gas despite questions over whether the country is getting a fair deal from Russia…

Armenia still buying Russian gas at $180 per 1,000 cubic meters, negotiations under way – (ARKA) Armenia will continue buying Russian gas at 180 dollars per 1,000 cubic meters until the end of the negotiations with Russia, Armenia’s minister of energy and natural resources Armen Movsisyan said….

Azerbaijan

Expansion of energy security discussed in Baku – (Trend) The Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA) hosts a two-day conference on the partnership with NATO entitled "Security Challenges: the expansion of energy security in the XXI century", which started on Wednesday…

U.S. envoy to Azerbaijan: energy projects unrelated to Karabakh = (Pan Armenia) “The role of Turkey and Azerbaijan in the diversification of energy resources and global energy security is increasing, the US ambassador to Azerbaijan said, according to APA…

U.S. neutral on pipeline project to supply Azerbaijani gas to Europe – (Azernews) Baku is a very important energy importer for Europe's energy diversification and plays a key role for its energy stability by exporting Azerbaijani gas to European markets…

Newly-constructed buildings in Azerbaijan to be supplied with alternative energy plants – (APA)  All newly-constructed buildings in Azerbaijan will be supplied with the alternative energy plants, said the Chairman of State Agency for Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources Akim Badalov…

IFC starts funding renewable energy projects in Azerbaijan – (AzerNews) The International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank Group, has approved the first loan to Azerbaijan to finance renewable energy and energy efficiency (RE/EE-credit) projects…

IFC approves first loan on Azerbaijan's energy efficiency – (News.za) IFC approves first loan to finance energy efficiency and alternative energy in Azerbaijan…

Baku hosts conference on energy security = (Azernews) The Azerbaijan Diplomatic Academy (ADA) hosts a two-day conference on the partnership with NATO entitled "Security Challenges: the expansion of energy security in the XXI century", which started in Baku on May 22… 

Major energy project contractors in Azerbaijan to be determined in 2014 – (Trend) In September 2013, preliminary data with regards to the selection of contractors for construction work within the second stage of development of…

Azeri SOCAR to borrow $4 bln to build refinery in Turkey – (Daily News) Azeri state energy firm SOCAR plans to borrow about $4 billion from foreign banks to finance construction of a refinery in Turkey, a company official said, a project that could provide a profitable outlet for its crude…

European Commission withdraws pipelines for gas export from Azerbaijan from III Energy Package – (abc.az) Yesterday the European Commission adopted a formal decision granting the exemptions from the EU legislation (the provisions of the 3rd Energy Package on the third party access, tariff regulation and ownership unbundling) for the Trans-Adriatic Pipeline project and for Nabucco West as an extension of the existing exemption (on the third party access and tariff regulation) earlier granted…

Georgia

New investors in the Georgian energy sector – (The Messenger Online) New investors have appeared in the Georgian energy sector. The India-based TATA group together with Norwegian Clean Energy will build four hydroelectric stations in Adjara at Shuakhevi, Koromkheti, Khertvisi and Skhalta…

Minister: Georgia completes its part on transmission line to Turkish border – (Trend) The Georgian-Turkish project on electrical line construction for exports abroad will be completed soon. Georgian Energy Minister Kakha Kaladze told the media on Wednesday that the Georgian side has already completed its section of power transmission line and is waiting for Turkey to catch up…

Austrian Development Bank provides Georgian ProCredit Bank with credit line worth $15 million – (Trend) An agreement on a first credit line was signed with the Austrian Development Bank at the head office of the Georgian ProCredit Bank on Tuesday. Energy efficiency projects and small to medium-sized enterprises will be financed in Georgia…

86,000 families to be provided with gas in Georgia by year’s end – (Trend) According to the plan developed by the gas distribution and energy companies, some 86,000 families in Georgia will be provided with gas by the end of 2014, Georgia's Minister of Energy Kakha Kaladze said at a press conference…

Russia

Gazprom Sees Income Decline. Possible Threats For Russia? – (Profi) Negative forecasts for Gazprom’s future have become a routine for analysts and strategists from around the world, including Russia, China, Great Britain and the USA…

Wartsila to supply major gas engine power plant to Russia – (Market Watch) An important step in the use of combustion engine technology for major power plant projects was taken with the award of this order to Wartsila…

Turkey

Turkey's booming power market set for liberalization – (Reuters) Turkey's bid to create a regional power market is moving forward with preparations to add electricity futures and derivatives trading yet the appeal of tapping the country's rapid growth is tempered by caution about how the market will work…

Turkey invests big in nuclear power – (DW) While other EU countries are increasingly investing in renewables, Turkey is planning three new nuclear power stations. The country's aim is to turn from being a net importer to a net exporter of energy…

Turkish power market liquidity rises but barriers remain – (ICIS) Liquidity has grown on the Turkish electricity market, but active traders say that liquidity could develop more quickly with more credit lines between counterparties and the resolution of the stamp tax exemption…

Turkish state electricity generator EUAS commits to liberalization – (ICIS) Turkey's state-owned electricity generation company EUAS plans to build some 13GW of capacity by 2020 via joint ventures with foreign companies, its head told the Emart conference in Istanbul on Tuesday…

Turkey to invest in new nuclear power stations – (Penn Energy) Turkey recently announced plans to build three new nuclear power stations in an effort to make the country a net exporter of energy rather than importer, Deutsche Welle reported…

Ukraine

Roundtable Discussion, Electric And Heating Energy Tariffs In Ukraine: When They Will Leave Us Without Heat And Electricity? – (Un.ua) the PRESS CENTRE of Ukrainian News Agency is hosted a ROUNDTABLE DISCUSSION on the electric and heating energy tariffs in Ukraine: when they will leave us without heat and electricity?..

Ukraine negotiating with Turkmenistan to resume gas supplies – (Trend) The Minister of Ecology and Natural Resources of Ukraine Oleg Proskuryakov, who is on a working visit to Ashgabat, discusses cooperation issues, including the resumption of gas supplies to Ukraine, the press service of the Ukrainian Ministry reported on Wednesday…

A Crucial Six Months for Ukraine – (New Eastern Europe) The success of the Eastern Partnership depends on the success of Ukraine, as Ukraine is a key component of the Eastern Partnership, admitted guests of the 6th Europe-Ukraine Forum, which ended yesterday in Budapest.

Ukraine exports electricity worth $193 m in four months of 2013 – (KyivPost) Ukraine in January-April 2013 exported electricity worth $193.319 million.  According to the State Customs Service of Ukraine, in particular, Ukraine supplied electricity worth $90.711 million to Hungary, $67.578 million to Belarus, $17.216 million to Moldova, and $17.814 million to other countries…

Ukraine boosts electricity exports in 2013 – (KyivPost) A source at the Energy and Coal Industry Ministry said that Ukraine boosted electricity exports 26% YoY in January-April to 3.159 billion kilowatt hours…

Hydropower frenzy threatens Carpathian mountains – (Times of Oman) The frenzy to build hydropower stations across the Carpathian mountains poses an "imminent" threat to biodiversity in Eastern Europe, c

 

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.