The Parliament of Albania has adopted changes to the law on the electricity sector to continue restructuring state-owned companies – transmission system operator (TSO) OST, and power supplier and distribution system operator (DSO) OSHEE.

According to Albania’s minister of infrastructure and energy Belinda Balluku, the vote was another step in changing legislation to match EU countries.

The amendments enable OST to achieve full autonomy and OSHEE to complete the unbundling

The activities underway will lead to an integrated and more attractive energy market for investors, she said in a post on Facebook.

The amendments to the law on the electricity sector enable OST to achieve full autonomy and OSHEE to complete the unbundling process, the minister added.

All these steps have been implemented in full cooperation with the Energy Community Secretariat, Balluku said.

The Albanian government remains committed to undertaking any regulatory changes necessary to meet the criteria set by the EU, in her words.

Albania and North Macedonia, which are Energy Community contracting parties, reached a political agreement on March 24 with the European Union to open accession negotiations.

Changes to secure the legal and functional unbundling of OSHEE

In order to achieve full independence of Albania’s TSO OST, the ministry will transfer some competencies to the shareholders of the company, Baluku stated in Parliament before the voting.

She also said the changes are made to secure the legal and functional unbundling of Albania’s power supplier OSHEE.

In March 2018, OSHEE created three subsidiaries

The amendments on the law will guarantee the technical, physical, and financial independence of the three subsidiaries created during the OSHEE unbundling, Baluku asserted.

In March 2018, OSHEE created three subsidiaries – the universal service supplier, the free market supplier, and the DSO.

In its latest WB6 Electricity Monitoring Report published in 2019, the Energy Community Secretariat said there were significant delays in OSHEE unbundling.