Water utilities will receive 30 million lek subsidies from the government, priority, liquidation of salaries, insurance and debts for electricity

Regional water supply companies will benefit from a 30 million ALL subsidy from the National Water, Sewerage Agency. The Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy has approved the methodology that will be used for the distribution of subsidies, excluding those companies that do not complete the aggregation procedures within the year 2023. So far there are 3 regional companies that have not been created, more specifically Tirana, Vlora and Shkodra . Meanwhile, as regards the spending of subsidies by the companies that will benefit, the ministry's instruction determines that the priority is the liquidation of emergency liabilities, which hinder the normal activity of the company. This includes the liquidation of arrears for social security, salaries, electricity and expenses necessary for the start-up of the operation of the regional company. As well, the rest of the budget provided for water subsidies will be managed by AKUM and will be used to pay off the electricity obligations of the regional water and sewerage companies. In this case, priority will be given to companies that have over 75% of production with mechanical lifting and those that have created new obligations for energy during 2023, due to high energy costs. During the year 2022, the government distributed 360 million ALL in subsidies to water supply and sewerage companies. Compared to a year ago, the figure has decreased by 20 million ALL, but the bill still remains high due to the financial situation of these companies. Meanwhile, the real need for subsidies to cover operation and maintenance costs for the entire sector is 2.84 billion ALL, but in reality it is only 12.