October 28 (SeeNews) - The European Commission (EC) will provide 80 million euro ($79.6 million) of grants to Albania to help the country deal with the energy crisis, the Commission's president Ursula von der Leyen said.
The grants will help Albania address the impact of high energy prices that it has on citizens and businesses, von der Leyen said during an official visit to Albania on Thursday, as quoted in a Commission press release.
The Commission is also planning about 500 million euro in grants for the Western Balkans, intended to back investments in energy infrastructure, von der Leyen added. This funding will be provided through the Commission's Economic and Investment Plan for the Western Balkans.
Albania plans to hike electricity tariffs for households consuming more than 800 KWh per month as of November 1. The rate for electricity consumption above 800 kWh per month is planned to increase to 0.3 euro per kWh from 0.082 euro per kWh.
($ = 1.00498 euro)