Ministers discuss accelerating Greek-Albanian electricity interconnection in Tirana
The technical specifications for a new overhead electricity interconnection between Greece and Albania should be completed by the end of this year, Energy Minister Kostas Skrekas said on Friday.
He was speaking after meeting with his Albanian counterpart, Minister of Infrastructure and Energy Belinda Balluku in Tirana, on Friday.
Skrekas also met with Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama. He briefed both Rama and Balluku about the new natural gas infrastructures that will be created in Greece, which will triple the country’s LNG storage capacity. He noted that these projects will enhance regional energy security, and will help to end dependency on Russian fossil fuels imports.
Accelerating the implementation of the new power interconnection, which will triple the quantities of electricity transferred between the two countries, was also discussed, a Greek ministry statement said.
Skrekas said the new high-voltage (400 KW) line between southern Albania and western Greece will ensure more efficient cross-border electricity flows and better integration of renewable energy sources in the electricity network.
He noted that “imports of electricity from Albania were decisive last summer in covering the heightened demand during the heatwaves that hit Greece.”
Skrekas’ also met with Albania’s Minister of Environment and Tourism Mirella Kumbaro. They discussed the targeted actions that will begin in June for the protection of biodiversity and the integrated management of water resources in the Prespes lake ecosystem.
The protection of the Aoos (Vjosa) River, one of the few wild-flowing rivers in Europe with more than 1,000 different species of fauna, was also discussed. [AMNA]
