Serb electricity company takes charge of electricity bill in northern Kosovo
Serbia's electricity company EPS will begin reading meters in northern Kosovo on October 25 in order to begin charging consumers for electricity by November 1, after it started providing the area with electricity following a blackout caused by cuts from the Pristina-based Kosovo Electric Company (KEK).
(KosovoCompromise Staff) Friday, October 23, 2009
KEK has stated that it is the only institution with authorization to provide electricity in Kosovo and that all other potential suppliers are illegal.
It claims that the blackout was a result of an over-worked system, while Serbs in northern Kosovo say that it was a form of pressure from the government in Pristina.
Northern Kosovo residents have received electricity from Serbian EPS, but only 25 percent of actual consumption, which is close to 100 megawatts.
Serb official Radenko Nedeljkovic said that the current volume of electricity was not enough for everyone.
"I would call on the residents of north Kosovo to understand the gravity of the situation, to use electricity as sparingly as possible and to accept that the time has come when electricity will have to be paid for," he said.
Serbs in northern Kosovo had been refusing to pay electricity to the Pristina authorities for year.
Electricity will be turned off for non-payers, and, if there is resistance, EPS will ask for the help of the police.
EPS states that residents of northern Kosovo are in for a tough winter and that there will be a lot of power cuts during this period.
All those heating their homes with electricity will have to find another method for doing so, because there will not be enough electricity for heating purposes.
