The Albanian government has announced new measures to deal with the ongoing energy crisis, including scheduled powercuts throughout the country and “off days” for the public sector in an effort to conserve power.
Energy Minister Belinda Balluku announced that major roads in the country would be without power after midnight. Municipalities will also be asked to limit lighting that is not necessary.
“Starting from 12 o’clock at night, the Municipalities will be asked to stop the lighting, for those matters that are not necessary. We will turn to imports as we will need to consume as little energy as possible, so as not to run out,” she said on Sunday.
Albania has invested heavily in hydropower in the last 30 years. The problem is that power is mainly generated during the spring and summer and is sold abroad meaning power needs to be bought back, at a higher price, during the winter months when consumption is high.
In addition, on Friday the government announced that all public sector workplaces, including schools and kindergartens will be closed on Monday to conserve energy. As Tuesday is a public holiday, Prime Minister Edi Rama said with Monday included as well, public institutions will not use any energy for four days.
The news was not welcomed by those with children who work in the private sector who have been left with few childcare options at short notice.
Meanwhile, citizens continued their protests on Saturday, gathering in the main square before marching on the prime minister’s office.
Present were students, activists, those from the left and right of the political spectrum, farmers, disabled people organisations, tourism workers, and residents whose homes have been demolished by the government.
Several thousand people took part, holding Albanian flags, Ukrainian flags, and banners saying “stop stealing from us”.
They announced the intention to remain there, similar to “occupy protests” by the police who used violence once again, according to the media and protestors on the scene. The latest bout of police heavy-handedness comes after hundreds of arrests of peaceful protestors and the assault of several journalists.
Both the European Commission and the Albanian Ombudsman called for police to exercise restraint and a group of local civil society organisations asked for the right to assembly to be respected.
