Secretariat supports Albania’s decision to stop hydropower construction on the Vjosa river

The Energy Community Secretariat supports the announcement made by Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama to cancel plans for the construction of hydropower plants on the Vjosa river. The announcement came two weeks after the Secretariat opened a dispute settlement case addressing its concerns with regard to the environmental impact assessment of the HPP Poçem project, a dam on the Vjosa river. The Vjosa River is one of the last unregulated rivers in Europe. The announcement followed the rejection of a construction permit for the HPP Poçem.

Deputy Director Dirk Buschle said: “We fully support the Albanian Government in this decision. As our assessment in the Poçem case showed, the quality of the environmental impact assessment and the procedure were not appropriate for power plants with such a massive impact on the ecosystem of the river Vjosa.”