Getting power to Kosovo before winter is an urgent problem. With temperatures likely to fall below -20OC, lack of power supplies will mean many people dying.
A power consortium, led by Mott MacDonald, which includes National Grid, PowerGen, Scottish Power and Southern Electric, all of the UK, is rebuilding two power plants, Kosovo A and B, and repairing the transmission network to ensure there is reliable power to get Kosovo through the winter.
Both of these lignite-plants are old; Kosovo A consists of 5 units with a total notional capacity of 700 MWe, while Kosovo B consisted of two 330 MWe units. A third plant, Kosovo C, had been planned before the troubles, with preparatory work started in 1987. Kosovo C would have had seven 300 MWe units.
According to Mott MacDonald, there was little damage inflicted on the generation facilities by the war. The main problems being faced are: getting the lignite mines operational; coping with the near total absence of equipment; and dealing with the rsults of a decade and more of poor maintenance and management. The shortage of equipment was, and remains, a major problem. Practically every tool, spare and piece of equipment that could be removed had been taken.
The consortium is first of all repairing Kosovo B, which is expected to be completed by the end of November.
It is planned to look at construction of Kosovo C early next year, which will be awarded open tender. Companies already active in the region will have an advantage in this tender process.
The reconstruction of Kosovo will be carried out in four stages: Getting emergency relief in as quickly as possible via aid agencies.
Starting the rebuilding process once the UN interim civil administration is running. Its scale will not be known until a needs assessment has been made by major donor agencies.
Expanding grant aid once a Kosovo administration has been formed.
Subsequent large-scale reconstruction, which may be loan funded by the major donor agencies.
