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Kosovo piece
00:00 14 Jul 1999
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BOXTEXT: The power situation
Mike Viney, a member of the British Trade International UK Power Sector Working Group, revealed that the power is now on in Pristina, "albeit very loosely." He adds that while the two major thermal power stations in Pristina have survived the bombing, they have still had to be shut down because not only were they releasing horrendous lindate emissions but all the engineers have been forced to leave. There is also no-one left to run the coal mines which supply the fuel for the power stations. "However, when the Kosovan refugees return from overseas more and more will reclaim their old jobs and there is hope that one of the generators will be restarted," says Askew.
Although an estimated 37,000 homes have been damaged in Kosovo, Pristina has escaped relatively unscathed. Money will be made available for repairs by the European Union Agency for Kosovo, but first it has to prioritise tasks before any funds can be allocated for the power sector.
Viney adds: "Although the damage is slight, there has been 10 years or more of neglect and maintenance of the power systems. It is a disaster. There are no spare parts, equipment is old and way past its shelf life and retreating Serbs have taken everything that is not nailed down. It will require a lot of rehabilitation and renewal work, but this unlikely to begin until the third tranche gets underway [target date 2003]."
BOXTEXT: The power situation
Mike Viney, a member of the British Trade International UK Power Sector Working Group, revealed that the power is now on in Pristina, "albeit very loosely." He adds that while the two major thermal power stations in Pristina have survived the bombing, they have still had to be shut down because not only were they releasing horrendous lindate emissions but all the engineers have been forced to leave. There is also no-one left to run the coal mines which supply the fuel for the power stations. "However, when the Kosovan refugees return from overseas more and more will reclaim their old jobs and there is hope that one of the generators will be restarted," says Askew.
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Although an estimated 37,000 homes have been damaged in Kosovo, Pristina has escaped relatively unscathed. Money will be made available for repairs by the European Union Agency for Kosovo, but first it has to prioritise tasks before any funds can be allocated for the power sector.
Viney adds: "Although the damage is slight, there has been 10 years or more of neglect and maintenance of the power systems. It is a disaster. There are no spare parts, equipment is old and way past its shelf life and retreating Serbs have taken everything that is not nailed down. It will require a lot of rehabilitation and renewal work, but this unlikely to begin until the third tranche gets underway [target date 2003]."
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