Yesterday KESH ordered electricity restrictions throughout the country The prolonged drought has drained the hydroelectric reservoirs page 13

. This summer seems set to teach Albanians that they are not only at the mercy of an overloaded electricity system during the winter months because of heating, but also of the prolonged absence of rain. As a result of the order by the head of the Electricity Corporation to cut off power for hours at a time throughout the country, Albanians are already facing, in the middle of summer, the very familiar phenomenon of the past ten years, which could be called the “energy winter.” The summer “blackout” cannot help but create a feeling of anxiety about the winter that will knock at our doors in a few months. Faced with electricity rationing now, at the height of the hot season, every Albanian naturally cannot help thinking about the coming winter, reasoning that if the power is cut in summer, it is easy to imagine what will happen in the cold months, which will not be long in coming. KESH’s decision to restrict electricity supplies, given the timing, is like a “cold shower” for Albanians. In fact, as in the past, KESH officials, followed by the government’s highest-ranking officials, promised months ago “less darkness” for the coming winter. On the other hand, just a few days ago, the welcome news was announced that from now on the Italian company ENEL would take over the management of electricity distribution in Albania. Yet now, by sounding the alarm over falling water levels in the hydroelectric reservoirs, KESH officials are highlighting, more than anything, their inability to manage electricity production and distribution. Considering that electricity in Albania is produced with “God’s water,” it ought to be one of the most profitable sectors of the economy. At least, that is how it was considered in Hoxha’s time. Specifically, all these years, while people have been talking about a drastic rise in consumption (despite the absence of the factories and industrial complexes of the past), apparently no long-term project has been discussed to meet this increase. For years, KESH officials have also made a fuss about electricity theft and consumers’ failure to pay. But the fact that these issues are brought up mainly during periods of crisis shows that KESH’s people use them more as pressure or to justify themselves to the public. If they are able to cut off the supply on such a large scale, why is it so difficult for them to do so not only to those who do not pay? Finally, given that the current power cuts are happening on the eve of the autumn local elections, they cannot help but affect their outcome as well, becoming an effective card for the opposition.

Gore-Lieberman Page 23 Al Gore, US presidential candidate, with vice-presidential candidate Jozef Liberman. Photo: REUTERS

A necessary response to the newspaper “Albania,” still owned by Ylli Rakipi The respected newspaper “Albania,” which has finally seen the light of independence from this year, 1997, although it has been published for six years, came out yesterday with a large headline on its front page: “Koha Jonë” is being sold for 2 million dollars.” According to Ylli Rakipi’s newspaper, Albania’s first independent newspaper, “Koha Jonë,” has someone as a co-owner: Nikollë Lesi and Nicola Grauso from the island of Sardinia (Italy). To be precise with our readers and with public opinion, one of the Italian media magnates, Nicola Grauso, arrived in Albania on Saturday, accompanied by a well-known Rome editor and a photojournalist. They were received by the MP and owner of the media company “Koha Jonë,” Nikollë Lesi, and, to be even more candid, dinner was hosted for them by Albanian Prime Minister Ilir Meta at the government villa in Durrës. The hastily written article, perhaps driven by a colleague’s envy at the newspaper “Albania,” says that an agreement was reached at dinner to buy 50% ownership of the media company “Koha Jonë” for 2 million dollars. Nothing of the sort was discussed, since the dinner was entirely friendly; they discussed relations between the two countries. (continued on page 4)

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