AD ESM signs three-year coal supply deal with KEK for Obiliq mine
Agreement secures about 3 million tonnes from Obiliq at a fixed €24.4/ton and is projected to add 800 GWh and roughly €57 million per year.
AD ESM has signed a strategic supply agreement with KEK (Kosovo Energy Corporation) to secure roughly three million tonnes of coal from the Obiliq mine over the next three years, the company announced. The contract fixes the purchase price at €24.4 per tonne for the duration of the agreement and was formally signed by AD ESM general director Lazo Uzunchev and KEK general director Gramos Hashani.
The deal establishes precise quality parameters that will be used in sales and delivery, and guarantees both the volumes and the unit price for the period. AD ESM says those assurances will shield the domestic power system from shortages of suitable coal for generation and from the sharp international price swings that affect energy commodities.
Expected operational and financial gains
According to company projections, burning Kosovar coal in North Macedonia’s thermal power plants will improve plant efficiency and translate into an additional 800 GWh of electricity production annually, with an estimated revenue boost of about €57 million. AD ESM also expects lower use of fuel oil (mazut) to further improve the overall financial outcome.
The company estimates environmental and indirect financial benefits as well: annual CO2 emissions are projected to fall by 923,000 tons due to reduced coal burning and by another 55,980 tons thanks to decreased fuel-oil use.
AD ESM noted that, since roughly 70% of the country’s annual electricity output today — and for the coming three years — is produced by thermal power plants, the agreement provides a measure of relatively long-term energy security and stability for households and industry.
Photo: press material from the event
