The government in Pristina has ordered the Kosovo Energy Corporation (KEK) to distribute tens of thousands of tons of coal to its employees to heat their homes as the country prepares for restrictions during the winter months.
About 3600 employees of KEK will each receive a truckload of coal, about 10 tons, starting this week.
In August, Kosovo became the first country in Europe to introduce restrictions due to insufficient domestic electricity production and the government's reluctance to buy expensive electricity on the open market.
Reuters reports that yesterday at the lignite mine, which is located a few kilometers from Pristina, KEK employees gathered to check if their names were on the lists and when the coal would be delivered, while the noise from the huge coal mining machines overpowered their loud complaints why the process is taking so long.
"This is a just and smart decision because the workers are tired of price jumps," Camil Plana, who came to the mine to find out when the coal will reach his home, told Reuters.
The practice of donating coal existed until 2018, when it was suspended in order to curb pollution. For days, according to data, the capital of Kosovo was considered the most polluted city in the world, Reuters reminds.
"Workers work in this dust, dig coal and they can't heat themselves with that coal? What happened until now was discriminatory", said the head of the KEK trade union, Nedžad Lumnica, for the British agency, calling on the government to continue with this policy in the future.
About 90 percent of the country's domestic energy production comes from thermal power plants that were built in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.
Kosovo is rich in lignite, a soft coal with low energy content that creates toxic pollution when burned, according to Reuters. According to official data, Kosovo has the fifth largest lignite reserves in the world in the amount of 12 to 14 billion tons.
However, that coal must remain within the country since Kosovo has committed to ending the use of coal by 2050.
"We will face huge pollution in the coming months, mainly in Pristina, which will be covered in smog... the donation of coal should not have happened," said environmental activist Besfort Kosova from the Green Foundation of the Balkans.
The government has said that energy consumption can reach up to 1400 MW/h, but if all domestic plants work properly, they can produce only 900 MW/h, and the rest should be imported, mostly in the evening when people are at home and they use their heaters.
Kosovo does not have access to gas, and citizens mostly rely on electricity for heating. The government has indicated that it is more inclined to restrictions than spending huge amounts of money on importing expensive electricity.
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