Albania: ERE proposes new rules for selling power-sector assets, including storage and charging

Enti Rregullator i Energjisë (ERE), Albania's energy regulator, has opened a public consultation on a regulation on asset-transfer procedures for licensees in the electricity sector, drawn up to implement the new Law No. 59/2026 on the power sector. The ERE Board decided to launch the procedure on 26 October, and comments can be submitted until 26 November, according to the authority's notice. The business magazine Monitor presented the draft on 3 November.

What changes. ERE's prior-approval requirement already exists under a 2016 regulation, but the draft widens its scope and details the exemption conditions, the documents required and the review criteria, Monitor notes. Besides generation, transmission and distribution, the text explicitly covers the operation of electricity storage facilities and of recharging points for electric vehicles.

The figures. Transfers with a total value of no more than 150 million lek need no approval, provided they do not affect compliance with licence conditions or endanger continuity of service or security of supply. For hydropower plants below 5 MW, approval becomes mandatory above 50 million lek. Transactions split artificially to avoid the threshold do not qualify for the exemption, and ERE may treat linked operations as a single one.

The procedure. ERE decides within 45 working days; if the file is incomplete, the applicant has 15 working days to complete it. The Board may approve the transfer with conditions or reject it if licence obligations are put at risk. The regulator will also assess the effects on regulated tariffs and network costs and whether they could be passed on to customers. Once the transaction is completed, companies have 30 calendar days to submit the documents.

Context. ERE also announced the launch of procedures for two other regulations, on changes to the legal status and ownership structure of licensees and on the revocation of licences in the electricity sector.

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