FRIEDRICH-EBERT-STIFTUNG – INCLUSIVE ENERGY TRANSITION IN SOUTHEAST EUROPE INCLUSIVE ENERGY TRANSITION JUST TRANSITION The cancellation of the Kosova e Re coal project in 2020 has finally opened the space for Kosovo to talk more realistical­ly about the end of coal; however, the recent series of changes of government has delayed this much-needed dis­cussion. So far the concept of just transition appears to be mainly mentioned by NGOs and has not really taken off. 186 This cannot wait for much longer, however. While the Kosova B plant looks set to stay online for several more years, Kosova A3 and A4 are more than fifty years old and it is unclear how long they will be able to run for. PUBLIC PARTICIPATION IN DECISION-MAKING ON ENERGY POLICY AND INFRASTRUCTURE Like other countries in the region, Kosovo does not have a good record of public participation in decision-making on infrastructure projects. But its secrecy has at times gone be­yond the pale, such as in December 2018 when the then government issued an approval for the environmental im­pact assessment of the 500 MW Kosova e Re coal power plant, without any public consultation having taken place and without the EIA study having been publicly disclosed. 190 Similar issues have arisen with small hydropower projects, many of which appear to have been built without proper environmental assessments or public consultations. A gov­ernment review was reported in July 2021 to have found nu­merous legal violations relating to the projects. 191 HOUSEHOLDS AS ENERGY CONSUMERS AND TAXPAYERS As with most countries in the region, the reputation of re­newable energy in Kosovo has suffered due to the uncon­trolled development of small hydropower plants driven by feed-in tariffs. As a result, people tend to see renewable en­ergy as unaffordable, 187 despite the price drops of solar and wind in recent years. In 2019 an Energy Efficiency Fund was established, with around EUR 20 million and secured financing until 2022. So far it has only financed energy efficiency in public buildings but there are plans to extend it to the residential sector in 2022, 188 which is essential to spread the benefits. There is very little information available about energy pover­ty in Kosovo, though given the low employment rate and the fact that more than half the population was considered at risk of poverty or social exclusion in 2018(see above), it is likely to be a serious problem. Pressure has also been put on environmental activists by companies seeking to silence them. In 2020, through two different lawsuits, Kelkos Energy, a subsidiary of Austria’s Kelag International, sought EUR 100 000 from Shpresa Los­haj and EUR 10 000 from Adriatik Gacaferi after they cam­paigned against the hydropower plants. After widespread public outcry, the cases were finally dropped in October 2021. 192 On the policy level there is hope that the situation is improv­ing, as NGOs have been included in the NECP working group. However, the Law on Strategic Environmental As­sessment is deficient as it does not yet ensure that SEAs are carried out in parallel with the preparation of the plan or programme in question, before their submission to the leg­islative procedure, 193 and thus the SEA for the NECP has not yet been done. This raises questions about whether public participation will be early and effective. RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS PROSUMERS Any electricity customer connected to the low voltage distri­bution network with an installed capacity not higher than 100kW can apply to its supplier to use a net billing scheme. As of June 2021, 56 prosumers were connected in Kosovo, with many new applications in the pipeline. 189 Kosovo’s change of government and abandonment of the Kosova a Re project could be an opportunity to build a more sustainable society which will not depend on fossil fuels. Like other Western Balkan countries, Kosovo too should ramp up its support for energy efficiency measures for households – not only for public buildings. It also needs to step up its efforts to decrease distribution network losses. Kosovo has thus achieved the highest number of prosumers in the Western Balkans so far. The European Network of Transmission System Operators’ (ENTSO-E) decision to join the Kosovo-Albania Energy Reg­ulatory Block opens the door for Kosovo to move away from 186 Rosa Hergan, Will Kosovo’s new government start phasing out coal?, just-transition.info, 18 March 2021. 187 Rosa Hergan, Will Kosovo’s new government start phasing out coal? 188 Energy Community Secretariat, Implementation Report 2021. 189 Energy Community Secretariat, WB6 Energy Transition Tracker. 190 Viktor Berishaj,‘Doomed to failure: Yet more irregularities over Kosova e Re’, Prishtina Insight, 22 February 2019. 191 Exit.al,‘Kosovo Government Finds Numerous Violations in Hydro­power Plant Permits and Operations’, Exit.al, 12 July 2021. 192 Perparim Isufi,‘Energy Company Drops Lawsuits Against Kosovo ­Environment Activists’, Balkan Insight, October 2021. 193 Energy Community Secretariat, Implementation Report 2021. 36