Balkans’ new love for cooling stretches power grids thin
Many in the Balkans region have long mistrusted artificial cooling methods. In some areas, away from the tourist hot spots, people even avoid chilled drinks and ice cream for fear of catching a cold.
Blistering summer temperatures like the ones seen this week are altering those attitudes, analysts say and data show. That is good news for air-conditioning suppliers. But it is raising concerns about the impact of growing consumption on a fragile power grid.
On July 16, Kosovo energy supplier KESCO issued a warning to customers to limit power consumption because it was having to import 1 million euros’ worth of power per day from its neighbors.
One month earlier, a spike in consumption during a heatwave likely helped trigger a major power outage across Montenegro, Bosnia, Albania and most of Croatia’s coast, disrupting businesses and shutting down traffic lights.
“The stress that the power grids had already received due to the prolonged heatwave in the region contributed to the occurrence of this damage,” the head of the Greek transmission operator ADMIE, Manos Manousakis, said at the time.
Long term, countries will need to strengthen their grids and increase domestic renewables output, experts say. Bosnia, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Kosovo and Serbia rely on coal for electricity production.
Albania uses hydropower but relies on imports when rainfall dips in summer. Kosovo has seen a 400% increase in air-conditioning unit imports in the past five years, customs data show.
Once the preserve of banks and businesses, they now hum from apartment buildings across the capital Pristina.
(Reuters)
