Kosovar authorities say electricity supplies have resumed as normal after its main power distributor announced periodic brownouts starting on August 15 that it blamed on high import costs and production woes.
Nonetheless, officials in the Balkan state signaled that there would be challenges ahead as a result of the current "energy crisis and state of emergency."
"Regular electricity supply is back," the Kosovar Economy Ministry said on Facebook.
It credited cooperation between the local KEK energy company and its counterpart in neighboring Albania for resolving the immediate problem.
"Institutions will continue to do their best to maintain regular electricity supply in the coming days," the ministry said.
"However, given the situation, they ask all citizens and businesses to take frugal measures and be as careful as possible in using electricity."
Kosovo's electricity distribution company KEDS had warned that it would limit power supplies to customers from August 15 to six hours on and two hours off due to flagging local production and the high cost of importing electricity from abroad.
KEDS said in a statement that it was informed by the national grid operator KOSTT that the cuts were necessary because it will have to rely solely on domestic production for supplies.
It has been pushing regulators to allow price hikes for consumers.
The Economy Ministry said "cooperation with Albania will be followed by other measures to address the energy crisis and the state of emergency we are in."
Kosovo's 1.8 million inhabitants rely mainly on two aging coal-fired power plants for domestic electricity production. Some of the output has been limited due to scheduled summer maintenance at the plants.
European electricity prices reached record highs in the first week of August as a prolonged heat wave across the continent disrupted power markets that were already under strain from Russia’s cuts to the continent’s gas supplies amid its war with Ukraine.
