Secretariat closes case against Albania concerning unbundling of the electricity distribution system operator

Today the Secretariat closed Case ECS-4/17 against Albania for lack of unbundling of the electricity distribution system operator (DSO), OSSH. This decision follows the complete transposition of the Electricity Directive’s provisions related to DSO unbundling in national law, the completion of legal unbundling and substantial progress in functional unbundling. The latest measures ensuring functional unbundling were the adoption of a compliance program and the appointment of a compliance officer.

“Albania has gone a long way and made significant efforts to ensure unbundling of its distribution system operator. As long as it was still bundled with supply activities on both the regulated and non-regulated markets, the previous structure of the company implied bottlenecks for market opening. Together with the go-live of the power exchange ALPEX last week, unbundling ensures that Albania is in an excellent position to develop its power market further” said Deputy Director and Legal Counsel Dirk Buschle.     

Case ECS-4/17 was opened on 16 January 2018 based on the Secretariat’s view that Albania failed to fulfill its obligations under the Energy Community Treaty related to incorrect transposition and lack of implementation of the rules for legal and functional unbundling in the electricity sector.