Albanian Water Regulatory Authority Publishes its Annual Report 2022

Albanian Water Regulatory Authority Publishes its Annual Report 2022

On 15 March 2023, representatives from the Albanian Water Regulatory Authority (WRA) reported to the Commission for Production Activity, Trade and the Environment on the activity and performance of the water sector in Albania during 2022.  WRA was represented at the hearing by the chairman Mr. Ndriçim Shani, the member of the Commission Mr. Namik Simixhiu and Mrs. Fatime Imeraj, Secretary General.

During the presentation of the annual report, the chairman Mr. Shani focused on the reform of the sector, which consists in the aggregation of the sector into 15 Regional Water Utility Companies, from the existing 58 utilities. During the reforming process, WRA has played a very active supporting role by facilitating the progress of the process both, in the transfer of licenses, and the use of current tariffs until the approval of new tariffs by the National Regulatory Commission.

The analysis of the main performance indicators for 2022 shows that almost all of them have improved, with exception of the Operation and Maintenance Costs, which has significantly influenced the deterioration of the financial performance of the companies as a whole. The main reason for the worsening of this indicator was the increase by about 65% of the energy price as a result of the global crisis. In this context, Mr. Shani underlined that facing this challenge the water utility companies should be oriented towards increasing Energy Efficiency and finding alternative renewable sources from them.

In fulfilment of legal obligations towards the water sector and consumers, WRA pledges to increase its commitment to strengthen independence, transparency and inter-institutional cooperation in such a way that with its regulatory authority it creates the right balance between service providers, policy makers and consumers.

In the hearing, which lasted for more than two hours, a question and answer session was held on the development of the sector or concerns conveyed by the members of the commission. After the hearing, the Committee for Production Activity, Trade and Environment will make the corresponding resolution with the recommendations that WRA must take into account in order to implement them during 2023.

In addition, on 30 March, Mr. Shani reported the activity and performance of the WRA for 2022 in front of the Parliament of Albania. The reporting was followed by a series of discussions by the participating MPs and government cabinet members.

The full Annual Report 2022 can be found at the below link:
https://erru.al/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/Raporti_Vjetor_2022-FINAL.pdf