Esmeralda Topi
Last autumn, the Prime Minister initiated an informational campaign with pensioners from north to south, assuring them of a pension increase in the upcoming mandate. Along with this recycled promise from a decade ago, Rama also mentioned that the government was planning to reduce electricity prices.
‘We shouldn’t enter the New Year without telling pensioners that even if it’s just one LEK, one LEK —it doesn’t matter—but when the bill arrives in January or February, it will be less than before,’ promised the Prime Minister during a meeting with pensioners in Fier.
Fact
At present, Albanian households are paying 9.5 LEK per kilowatt-hour of electricity consumed. This rate was set in 2014 when the two-tier tariff system was removed, and it has remained unchanged for a decade until this recent decision.
The Energy Regulatory Authority (ERE) has decided to lower the price of electricity for households.
The ERE board has voted to reduce the price by 1 LEK per kilowatt-hour for families consuming up to 700 kWh per month.
As an example, a family that previously paid a monthly bill of 7,980 LEK (including VAT) will now pay 7,140 LEK (including VAT) starting next month. This amounts to a reduction of 840 LEK on the monthly bill or 9,240 LEK in total over the 11 months of 2025.
On the other hand, households that consume more than 700 kWh per month will not benefit from the price reduction. The ERE has decided that any consumption beyond this threshold will still be charged at the regular rate of 9.5 LEK per kWh, or 11.4 LEK per kWh including VAT.
Additionally, the price for other categories of consumers, such as businesses, bakeries, and both budgeted and non-budgeted institutions, will remain unchanged.
This new decision by the ERE will take effect on February 1st and will be valid until December 31st of this year.
Reactions
‘…we managed to look you in the eye and tell you; those who consume and make up about 95% of users up to the 700-kilowatt hour limit will receive a reduction in the energy price,’ said Prime Minister Edi Rama right after the decision.
However, industry experts have reacted, considering the 1 LEK price cut as insufficient. Engineer Azmer Duleviç pointed out that the sector had room for greater reductions.
‘It’s a very small reduction that won’t really make a difference for the citizens. There should also be a price difference between day and night, just like in Kosovo,’ Duleviç argues.
He sees this decision as connected to the parliamentary elections on May 11.
‘The energy price reduction at this moment is only for electoral purposes. The absurdity is that while the price of energy is being reduced, the price of water has increased by 20-30%,’ concludes the engineer.
How many households benefit?
Petrit Ahmeti, Chairman of the Energy Regulatory Authority, said that about 80% of household subscribers will benefit from the price reduction.
‘The portion of consumers who consume up to 700 kWh/month is almost 80%, which represents a relatively large number of consumers, covering the majority of household consumers,’ Ahmeti stressed.
However, an hour later, Energy Minister Belinda Balluku stated that 95% of household subscribers will benefit.
“…the monthly consumption of subscribers ranging from 0-700 kWh is equal to 1 million and 70 thousand subscribers, or in other words, 95% of the subscriber base we have registered with OSHEE,’ https://www.facebook.com/ediramaal/videos/1118806053026449Balluku said.
Source: Ministry of Energy
Based on OSHEE data, there are currently about 1.1 million household subscribers.
Conclusion
The promise made by Prime Minister Edi Rama to lower the electricity price by at least 1 LEK this year for household subscribers is considered a fulfilled promise.
