Author: Fatbardha Nergjoni
The residents of Upper Grabova have decided to oppose the construction of HEC-Grabova 1 and 2 in Gramsh. They claim that the HPP will take away their water, destroy the environment and they will be forced to leave this area. Through a petition launched as early as 2020 that has the signatures of over 100 heads of households, they ask the government to suspend and then terminate the contract with the companies and not to build two HPPs in this area.
In the environmental statement dated 23.08.2018 for the construction of HEC- Grabova 2 by a consortium of companies, it is noted that representatives from the community of the area, representatives from the local government as well as from the Regional Directorate of Environment and representatives from the studio participated in the consultation with the public environmental. "There has not been any concern from the community regarding the development of this activity and after listening to the suggestions, they will be taken into account by the investors during the time of use. The investors have assured the attendees that all measures will be taken to eliminate the negative impacts on the environment without harming the lives of the residents", it is emphasized, among other things, in the environmental document.
But in the meantime, residents say that the hearings were not made with residents of Upper Grabova, which is affected by the construction of HPPs, but with residents of Lower Grabova or Gramsh.
Ervis Ndini, headman of the village of Grabovë e Sipërme, declares that in the hearings the residents have rejected the construction of HPPs in this area. "They have come and held public hearings. Here, no one signed according to the rules they were looking for. They went to Gramsh and then they told him that the chief and some of them softened their stance and agreed. We made it clear to the prefect that this is not true. Let the firms tell us how many firms they have received, who they are, and let them continue. The village will resist to the maximum. And the stories that happened, we take turns in Poroçan, the world has dried up there. In Vënga, where we are, there is no drop of water at all, in Mesmali it is still surrounded. Seeing all these massacres, we will not allow them that we are natives here. Better to be killed than to cry forever", he says.
Two contracts were approved in the area during this period. Hydropower plant Grabova 1 with winners "GR Albania" Sh.PK, "Agna" Sh.A. and "Alb - Star" sh.pk with installed power of 12.900KW. The contract was to be implemented within 24 months of 2017 and the concession will last 35 years.
Another contract that affects the residents more closely is the BOT type contract, which was won by two companies, "Vëllezërit Hysa" and "Hidropower" sh.pk. The union of the companies, among others, won an additional concession contract for 35 million kilowatts/hour in year added to the first contract in 2017 also increasing the installation power from 8.1 KW to 10.8 MW. The energy that the HPPs are expected to produce is over 35 million kw/h per year. The concession was granted for a period of 35 years. According to the concession contract, the construction company will invest about ALL 1.5 billion in the construction of HEC Grabova 2.
Two favorable contract extensions for the HEC company Grabova 2
The union of operators, whose shareholders are brothers Hysa and Kapllanaj, has managed to sign two contract extensions and the last one is dated 11.06.2020 with the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy signed by the deputy. Minister Ilir Bejtja. More than the correction of the data on the amount of energy production, which was repaired in the first addition to the contract, the aim was to postpone the deadline for the implementation of the works, already violated by the company. Since the first extension of the contract entered into force on 22.06.2018, the operator requested more time, justifying himself with the delays caused by the institutions for obtaining the necessary permits for the execution of the contract. In the additional contract, Gramsh Municipality is cited as the reason for putting the forest and pasture fund into use, the delay in approving the connection point to the transmission or distribution network with OST, as well as the delays created due to the COVID 19 pandemic, which according to this additions have made it impossible to fulfill the contractual obligations according to the deadline.
In the future, using the articles of the first concession contract, the company has managed to obtain an extension to the deadlines through Article 5, where "The deadline of 12 months from the date of entry into force of the contract for the start of works shall be replaced by a deadline of 12 months from the entry into effect of this additional concession contract. Likewise, the technical changes have led to the addition of about 5 million kilowatt hours per year from the previous contract.
In May 2021, the residents of Upper Grabova in Gramsh were faced with the announcement from the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy about the expropriation of land for the construction of the Grabovë 2 hydropower plant. When they thought that the granting of the permit for this HPP was suspended, they learned that in In 2017, the concession was again awarded to two other companies that had already merged into one operator named HK HEC Grabova 2. They had refused a hearing with representatives of the companies that had already been declared winners of the concession and thought that the concession had not been approved. The residents will face the laying of the pipeline and the taking of water from the streams in this area, even though none of the members of about 100 families of the village have signed for the construction permit. With the construction of HPPs, the companies pipe the three streams that supply water to Upper Grabova. In order to oppose the construction, they drafted a petition which they sent to the institutions of the President, the Prime Minister, and the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy. Likewise, they are preparing a lawsuit that they will file in the Administrative Court as well as a complaint to SPAK for the violations in obtaining the environmental impact assessment permit.
The company HK HEC GRABOVA 2" LLC, in response to our request on whether it has conducted consultations with the public, as the law provides, says that all residents of Lower Grabova and Upper Grabova, affected by the construction of the HPP, have been notified. "The announcement of the hearings was for all residents who are affected by this project and the participants were those who wanted to participate. Participants in these hearings were also representatives of institutions whose participation is required by law", explains the company.
The company brings to attention the existence of a HEC that uses these waters (HEC functional from the time of communism, but according to the residents it does not use the waters of the Grabova streams), the HEC that according to it has not caused damage to the residents. She emphasizes that the contract has penal conditions if it is violated also regarding the use of water, confirming that the HEC will not use the water during the irrigation period.
As for the delays in the implementation of the contract, the company clarifies that this also came from the order of the Ministry of Energy No. 48 dated 30.01.2019 "On the verification in implementation of concession contracts and procedures subject to the Decision of the Council of Ministers.
"Due to the suspension of the concession procedures in implementation of this order, the issuance of the necessary permits, authorizations and licenses granted by various state institutions and required according to the legal provisions in force for obtaining the construction permit for Hec Grabove 2 has been delayed.", the company further emphasizes, confirming the start of the works as soon as possible.
Todi Buzo, a resident of Upper Grabova, says that the Albanian government has brought several letters from the Property Restitution and Compensation Agency as well as from the Ministry of Energy. "They are asking us to expropriate the lands of the villagers at a time when no member of our community wanted hydropower plants to be built, and based on the law of the Albanian state, if the community does not want hydropower plants to be built, then these hydropower plants should be suspended.".
Grabova lives with spring water. All activity is related to water. In this area, there are centuries-old bridges that show that water has always flowed in this area, but with the construction of HPPs, residents say that everything will dry up. "We have been fighting to protect this country for so many years. In this project that they are doing, the entire environment of Grabova 100 meters above the village from Grabova to Lënie is destroyed. It is destructive for the environment, for the arched bridges that are here, for the canyon that is below. Here is a village with traditions. We have traditional objects such as mills, saws, and water mills, and if one day our water is taken away, then we will not have to wash our woolen clothes. With the suspension of washing dishes, we also lose the tradition as it is known that all the products here are a vital basis for the residents because it is understood that Grabova is a cold country and it needs this whole process", emphasizes Buzo.
Concerned about the fate of the entire area, they say that there are many examples of how all areas have dried up after the construction of HPPs. Isli Paço says that they will make every effort and will not give up. "We call on them not to go to extremes, because if they continue, we will get to the point where the mayor will hand over the seal and we will not approach any official, whether central or local, the police or anything else, we will not we approach them here at all", he warns.
Determined in their resistance, the residents of Grabova are preparing a lawsuit in the Administrative Court, as well as requesting the intervention of SPAK for the investigation of the environmental impact permit that was given to the company by the Ministry of Environment through the deputy. Minister Ilir Bejtja. They claim that HPPs should not be built, because if such a thing happens, the fate of the flora, fauna and especially their lives is predetermined.
The C& S Energy company ignores the residents and the Librazhd Municipality
While HEC Grabovë has just started construction, the consequences of non-compliance with environmental permits and contracts for the construction of HEC are being faced every day by the residents of some areas in Librazhd. Although they have reacted in many cases to violations by companies of the terms of the contract as well as the damages caused to them, the result has not been positive. The only full practice against a resident compensation company remains in litigation.
In 2014, the Center unit in Librazhd, as well as a representative of the residents of the village of Togës, signed an agreement with the C&S Energy company after the constant concerns they had raised about the consequences of the construction of HPPs.
Among the points of the agreement "was the solution to the explosion of mines during the works, the compensation for the consequences of the explosions in the houses of the residents. Solving the problem of the source of drinking water in the neighborhood of the village of Toga by undertaking the construction of wells for families that will have water pollution".
The proposals of Toga village were: "construction of the suspension bridge of the village, construction of a road to the village cemetery, investment in the improvement of the irrigation system".
This agreement remained on paper as the company itself did not intervene and 4 years later, through a request, the residents turned to Librazhd municipality for the risk of damage to the bridge due to the construction of the HPP accompanied by the residents' firms.
In March 2018, the Municipality of Librazhd approached the C&S Energy company, the property of the Orthodox Church, with a claim for compensation after the working group established by the municipality found damage to the bridge as a result of the change in the direction of the free flow of the river as a result of the construction of HEC based also on the terms of the contract. The municipality has also mentioned the agreement that the company and the administrative unit have signed an agreement. According to the calculation, the value of the damage reaches 11 million ALL. About two weeks later, the company responds by calling the claims of the municipality and residents unsupported and unacceptable.
Residents of 6 villages in Orenjë appealed to the municipality with a petition a year ago requesting the expansion and repair of the road. They have also warned of the blocking of HEC works if the firm does not accept their demand.
Based on this petition, the Librazhd municipality turned to the ERDY Energy company to contribute to the repair of the road in the villages of Orenjë, Gurakuq and Floq, and from the company itself to the construction of the HPP. "The community rightly demands this intervention as the road has a large depreciation", says the municipality in its letter attaching the residents' request, but did not receive an answer to this request.
In some cases, residents also addressed the President's institution, asking for his intervention for their concerns. Zeqir Dosku from the village of Dragostunje addressed the President in March of this year with concern about the damage to the drinking water by the HEC construction company in this area. A few days later he received an answer that his letter is being evaluated by the President's institution as well as its address, but the matter did not receive a solution.
Residents have made continuous complaints about the consequences caused by the HPPs built or under construction. Refat Korra from Dragostunja says the consequences of HPPs are multiple, while the construction of roads within the national park has destroyed the environment and a large area of forest planted with walnuts.
"You can see the damage if you go there, and we are suffering the consequences. The stream has no water now in the winter and think in the summer how we will have it", he says worriedly.
Meanwhile, Nebi Gurraj considers ghost companies that do not spare anyone.
"We ask the state to intervene and control these ghost companies that come and want to take everything and don't want to know about us who live with this water and this forest", he concluded.
Lack of water seems to be the most common problem faced by local communities after the construction of HPPs. In the village of Kuturman in the area of Čermenika, Nazmi Kurti is the owner of a grinding mill by the river Orenja that for years covered the needs of 20 villages in this area. But the mill is already out of order, and Kurti blames it on the theft of water from one of the HPPs in the area.
The concession for the construction of a network of hydropower plants in this area has been signed since 2008, but the implementation started a few years later. Kurti says that at first they assured him that the HPPs would not cause problems for the mill, but according to him, the promise was broken with both feet. "The dam was built and they have allowed only 47 cm of water for the environment, not considering our needs at all. We are 3 km away from the dam and when the water comes here, it is insufficient putting out of operation the grinding mill for 20 villages in the area of Cermenika", Said Kurti.
As in Dragostunje, the residents of Kuturman village complain that they do not have enough water to irrigate their fields and livestock. Even though they addressed the local institution with a specific complaint, they did not receive any hopeful response.
A request for information AKBN, which should monitor the implementation of concession contracts, stated that it was not the one monitoring, but another institution. "We monitor only the technical side and is the authority of Concession Contracts. The HPP monitoring department at AKBN does not have the authority to take measures for the non-compliance of contractual obligations by the concessionaire companies. It is the contracting authority (in this case the Ministry of Infrastructure and Energy) that must take measures after the reports sent to it by this institution", says the answer sent by AKBN.
Until the publication of this article, no action has been taken against the HPP companies despite the complaints of the community where they were built.
Environmental expert: A moratorium on HPP is needed until the state is operational
The situation after the construction of HPPs in the area of Gramsh and Librazhdi does not seem to have a satisfactory solution for all components. Environmental expert, head of Elbasan Ecological Club, Ahmet Mehmeti says that all environmental organizations agree and support the use of water energy as a clean energy, but seen in the Albanian situation, this creates big problems in terms of abuse and damages that caused by the lack of control and enforcement of laws. "Those water sources that do not harm the ecosystem, do not harm the economy of the villagers by taking drinking water, for irrigation or for their normal life, should be used. What has actually happened with the construction of these HPPs is serious damage to the environment, as well as a great evil that increases poverty and abandonment by the inhabitants of these areas".
Mehmeti proposes as a solution a total ban on the granting of permits and a freeze for the permits that have not yet been implemented.
"What should be done in the future, in my opinion, is the suspension of the granting of permits for the construction of new HPPs as is happening by announcing a national moratorium until the renewal of legislation, control and concrete results for the violation of HPP contracts. eve from the subjects. In the same way, protected areas, natural heritages and forests should be prioritized to regenerate the biodiversity destroyed during these years.". Mehmeti also proposes a change in the permit criteria, to keep pace with European laws. "The criteria in the permit have expired. They are outdated and very standard. They must be renewed by looking at all the rules that the civilized world follows".
The collected data shows that from 2007 to the end of 2017, the governments led first by the Democratic Party and then by the Socialist Party signed at least 35 concession contracts for the construction of over 84 small hydropower plants for the production of electricity, in almost every river and stream in the area.
Over 82% of the concession contracts fall on the territory of the Municipality of Librazhd, while 7 of the hydropower plants have already been built within the protected area of the Shebenik-Jablanica national park. But it seems that the contracts are not prohibited despite the promise of the socialist government that no more such would be signed after it came to power.
The Grabova contract is one of the examples that concessions continue and damage to the environment also in the absence of monitoring and concrete consequences for companies that violate environmental permits and concession contracts.
