Albanian Power Corporation (KESH)

Stock performance

History

KESH is the successor to Albania's state electricity monopoly, which built the large hydropower dams of the Drin River cascade during the communist era. After the sector was unbundled in the 2000s, KESH kept the main generation assets while distribution and transmission were separated into other companies.

Business model

KESH generates most of Albania's domestic electricity from the Fierza, Koman, and Vau i Dejës hydropower plants on the Drin River, with about 1,350 megawatts of combined capacity, and sells power to the public supplier and on the wholesale market. In dry years it must buy imported electricity, while in wet years it can export.

Market position

KESH is Albania's largest electricity producer by far, in a system that relies almost entirely on hydropower.

Country impact

Because Albania's electricity supply depends on rainfall, KESH's output swings sharply from year to year, and drought years force expensive imports that weigh on public finances and the trade balance. That vulnerability is driving investment in solar and wind power.