Kurti attends the inaugural meeting of the Energy Storage Corporation Board

Kosovo’s Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, attended the first meeting of the Board of the Energy Storage Corporation, KRE.

In his speech, he stressed that Kosovo’s energy system, alongside KEK and Ibër-Lepenc, which are responsible for electricity production, and KOSTT, which transmits it, now also includes KRE. This corporation will store energy and make it available during periods when demand is higher.

Kurti underscored that the Energy Storage Corporation is wholly owned by the Republic of Kosovo and constitutes a shared asset of its citizens, which must be managed responsibly.

The Compact Program is worth a total of $236.7 million. Of this amount, $202 million is a grant from the United States of America, secured through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, while $34.7 million is a contribution from the Government of the Republic of Kosovo. According to the prime minister, this is a joint investment in the country’s energy security and long-term development.

Kurti thanked Minister Artane Rizvanolli and the staff of the Ministry of Economy, as well as MCC and MCA-Kosovo, for their cooperation to date.

He also expressed the gratitude of the Government and people of Kosovo to the Government and people of the United States for their continued support for the development of the Republic of Kosovo.

Prime Minister Kurti’s full speech:

Honorable Minister of Economy, Ms. Artane Rizvanolli,

Honorable Director of MCC in Kosovo, Mr. Rinor Gjonbalaj,

Honorable Chair, Mr. Bujar Haxha,

Honorable members of the Board,

Honorable Director of MCA-Kosovo, Ms. Florina Duli-Sefaj,

Honorable representatives of MCC,

Honorable guests,

Ladies and gentlemen,

KEK and Ibër-Lepenc are the enterprises that produce electricity, while KOSTT is responsible for its transmission. With the establishment of the Energy Storage Corporation, KRE, the possibility is also being created to store energy and use it during the hours when needs are greatest. Through this new public enterprise, we are adding to the energy system a capacity it has lacked until now.

From the time we drafted the Compact Program with our American partners, our aim was for the investment in batteries to be accompanied by the creation of an enterprise responsible for their ownership and management. Following the signing of the agreement with the Millennium Challenge Corporation, MCC, KRE was also established. With today’s first meeting of the Board, we are continuing the steps to prepare the enterprise for operation.

The Energy Storage Corporation is 100 percent owned by the Republic of Kosovo and is consequently a shared asset of our citizens. Public assets are protected through sound management and their growth. Public enterprises must operate successfully, generate economic value and use that value for the welfare of citizens. This is also our objective for KRE.

The overall value of the Compact Program is $236.7 million. Of this amount, $202 million constitutes a grant from the United States of America, provided through the Millennium Challenge Corporation, while $34.7 million is a contribution from the Government of the Republic. This program represents a joint investment in energy security and sustainable long-term development in Kosovo.

KRE will own and operate the batteries in Istog, which have a capacity of 125 megawatts and a storage capacity of 250 megawatt-hours of energy. Combined with KOSTT’s 90-megawatt-hour system in Ferizaj, Kosovo will secure 340 megawatt-hours of new publicly owned energy storage capacity.

This means that energy can be stored when production exceeds needs and returned to the grid when demand increases. In this way, the need for imports during peak hours is reduced and the balancing of the energy system is supported.

Honorable members of the Board,

Your experience in the fields of energy, finance, law and administration, both in Kosovo and abroad, is of particular importance. Our expectation is that you will build the enterprise on the basis of merit-based recruitment, professional decision-making and official accountability. New technology also requires high standards of governance. Every decision must be made responsibly toward the citizens to whom this enterprise belongs.

I express my thanks to Minister Rizvanolli and the Ministry of Economy team, as well as to MCC and MCA-Kosovo, for their joint commitment. We convey our gratitude to the Government and people of the United States for their continued support for the development of the Republic of Kosovo.

I wish you success in your work and the enterprise every success in providing the citizens of Kosovo, without distinction, with the highest-quality service possible.

Thank you for the invitation and for your attention!