High temperatures and a prolonged lack of rainfall have compelled the Albanian Power Corporation (KESH) to resume purchasing electricity from the international market. Over the past two weeks, KESH organized four auctions, spending a total of €14 million to cover domestic energy needs. The electricity was bought at an average price of €95 per megawatt-hour.
These recent purchases mark the first electricity imports in nearly three months, with the last procurement taking place in mid-March. Prior to this, Albania had already spent around €38 million on electricity imports during the first quarter of the year. With the latest round of buying, the country’s total electricity import bill for 2025 has reached approximately €52 million.
According to data from KESH, Albania has imported a total of 408,000 megawatt-hours of electricity so far this year, at an average cost of €124 per megawatt-hour. The continued reliance on imports at different times throughout the year underscores the country’s ongoing inability to meet domestic electricity demand solely through hydropower and solar energy production.