A company in North Mitrovica is competing to supply energy to four Serb-run municipalities in northern Kosovo – but its application may be delayed by Kosovo’s political confusion.
The Kosovo Energy Regulatory Office, ERO, confirmed on Monday that after analysing an application from Drustvo Elektrosever to supply power to Serb-run northern Kosovo, a commission will submit the final decision to the board.
“The review of an application may last up to 60 days since the day when the application is considered complete,” ERO cautioned BIRN.
Drustvo Elektrosever registered with the Kosovo business registry in November 2018 and has listed trading energy as its primary activity and maintenance of energy equipment as the second.
Its sole owner is Serbia’s state-run energy company Elektroprivreda Srbije, EPS, while Executive Director Boban Novakovic has been named as the authorised person.
Serbia and Kosovo made an initial agreement on energy supplies in 2015 as part of EU-mediated talks to normalise relations.
But this was then blocked by Serbia because the agreement stipulated that Serbian-controlled companies offering power supplies would have to register with Kosovo’s ERO.
Serbia demurred, refusing to accept any symbol of the statehood of its former province whose independence it does not recognise.
Because of this, it was agreed that the Kosovo operator KOSTT would be recognised as a supplier for the entire territory of Kosovo while Serbia’s EMS would provide support for the Kosovo operator to become a member of the European network.
The final review of Elektrosever’s application may be delayed, however, as the ERO board is currently not functioning; it has only two members out of the five that are needed.
This also comes at a time when the Kosovo parliament, which must vote for any new members, is about to dissolve before the country heads into snap elections.
The application comes two weeks after the electricity network system operator KOSTT started to operate independently across the country as part of a new energy bloc including neighbouring Albania.
The move has given KOSTT independence from the Serbian operator EMS, which up to now was distributing electricity to Serb-dominated municipalities in northern Kosovo.
Source:www.balkaninsight.com
