The new 110/20 kV substation in Kombinat administrative unit in Tirana, another major investment worth $11 million, is another significant example of the transformation Albania’s electric power system is being through. Built in 1953, but undergoing no investment whatsoever since then, the Kombinat power substation had completely deteriorated, seriously compromising quality of the power supply to an important area in the capital.

Prime Minister Edi Rama visited the area to closely inspect the recent investment and he initially stopped in front of the derelict building, which, in addition to the old equipment that have degraded over the time, has partially collapsed due to the severe weather conditions.

“We have decided to preserve this building owned by the power distribution operator, OSHEE, and the facility will undergo a reconstruction project that will preserve the structure’s façade or face, as we plan to build a museum of all old power substations. The building was constructed in’53 and it hasn’t changed and it has seen no investments since then. We are mulling plans to include it in the area’s development plan, yet it is something we need to discuss with architects first,” the Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku said.

The new substation will ensure high quality power supply to around 120.000 residents, while thank to the state-of-the-art technology the substation will be monitored and supervised remotely via the online supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system. Infrastructure and Energy Minister explained that the new power substation acts as a regulator for all other areas. “It is an $11 million-investment implemented by OSHEE. New substation features required technical parameters not only to meet the power supply demand for around 120.000 local residents, but also act as a regulator for all other areas.”

The substation’s engineer said that the powerful installed capacity of the facility will fully meet the demand for electricity in a constantly developing area. “The substation has an installed capacity of 100Mega, fully meeting the current demand for power supply, as well as ensuring continuity of all development projects due to be implemented in this area. The grid had deteriorated for more than 30 years, failing to meet the power supply demand for the area’s development. Its capacity will provide an opportunity for the electrical system of Tirana, for the substation of Selita and Kashar and will replace the entire 85-km long line of medium voltage network for the area of ​​Kombinat, Vaqarr industrial area, further stretching to Sharra and Yzberish.”

Moreover, the investment is designed to halve the electricity distribution loses, reducing loses to only 5% from 17%, taking another important step towards the target to further reduce power distribution loses. “We expect to reduce the distribution loses to only 4% by December,” the OSHEE Director Adrian Çela. This substation provides solution to another long-standing problem, as it facilitates our work on December 31, the day when the distribution lines are most overloaded. With this substation now operational, we balance the overload, because we lacked such a capacity in the old substation. This one and other substations being built in Tirana will help us a lot to balance electricity.”

Current situation in the country’s power system, the Prime Minister Rama stated, can in no way compare to the one existing seven years ago, although a lot remains to be done. “The thing is, as far as I can notice, people seem to have forgotten they had to wait for hours in on long queues while raining just to pay the electricity bills. They paid also for those who didn’t pay electricity bills at all. The system has yet to move right there where it should be, because a lot remains to be done, yet it cannot be compared to what it used to be just seven years ago. We have ushered in a completely different stage of the country’s development history, with me differing from those who are in their own right to criticize and make their choice, but let’s talk about the deficiencies in terms of the future, but it is out of question when it comes to the past. I am really surprised how people claim that we ruined people in the past seven years, that we make people poor in the past seven years, when indeed, we were not at all part of Europe in no aspect seven years ago, with power sector being the symbol of failure seven years ago. We are now part of Europe. It is a country with its problems, but it is part of Europe. And we are part of Europe not because of what we have already done, but for the path we have cleared and it is certainly a long way to go. However, we have opened this path here with the text schools, the country’s health system, the direct contributions, not only state ones, but also the European funds we have finally succeeded in absorbing them successfully to support agriculture, infrastructure, energy and every other sector. A country with problems, a country facing significant challenges, but we are in Europe. Seven years ago, we were merely an invisible point on the planet.”