October 11 (SeeNews) - The U.N.-run Serbian province of Kosovo said on Thursday its imports of power in September and the first half of October would total 18.1 million euro ($25.69 million).
In September alone the province imported electricity worth 11.1 million euro, Kosovo’s power utility KEK said in a statement. In the first half of October power imports will amount to 7.0 million euro. An annual revamp of Kosovo’s main power generator - the Kosova B power unit with an installed capacity 700MW – was carried out during these two months, which contributed to the increased power imports, the statement said. Kosovo will not buy electricity after October 15 when Kosova B will be operational at full capacity.
Kosovo's power imports this year are estimated to reach 45 million euro, of which 35 million will come from KEK's own budget and the remainder from the province's 2007 budget.
To meet domestic electricity demand the province has said it would import 1.37 million GWh from June this year until March.
Kosovo possesses the world's fifth-largest coal reserves, estimated at 12 billion metric tonnes, but continues to suffer daily power cuts, mainly because of its dated generation facilities and shortage of funds for coal extraction and research.
The two existing lignite-fired power plants – the Kosova A and B - together generate 97% of Kosovo's electricity output. The remaining three percent is generated by hydropower plants.
($=0.7045 euro)