Consumers in the Balkan state have been told they will be allowed six hours of power at a time, with two-hour breaks, according to a spokesman for energy distribution company KEDS. The energy voucher, which has no scheduled expiry date and was announced on Monday, is a response to high wholesale market prices, which mean Kosovo cannot afford to import electricity. Its domestic generation capacity, almost all of which comes from heavily polluting coal-fired power plants, is only enough to meet about two-thirds of demand. While Kosovo is one of Europe’s smallest and poorest countries, the move to impose scheduled holidays will raise fears that other European nations could be forced to follow suit. High prices caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have European leaders scrambling to agree a multilateral plan to reduce natural gas use, possibly including the use of vouchers. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. As winter approaches and with little sign of peace on the horizon, wholesale energy prices have soared, with UK consumers being warned to expect average household energy bills of more than £4,000 this winter. However, the situation in Kosovo is particularly acute because about half of the country’s generators are shut down for routine maintenance ahead of winter. Kosovo’s parliament declared a state of emergency earlier this month, allowing it to enact drastic measures, including blackouts, to deal with the energy crisis. Similar blackouts were introduced in December, when consumption hit record levels as temperatures plunged below freezing. Earlier this month, Kosovo’s parliament declared a 60-day state of emergency to give the government the power to take measures to deal with the crisis, including power cuts. The power crisis comes amid growing tension with neighboring Serbia over a controversial new provision asking Kosovo’s Serb minority to switch to Kosovo license plates. Pristina declared independence from Belgrade in 2008 after a protracted and complicated series of military conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, but Serbia still considers Kosovo part of its territory.
