{
  "schemaVersion": 1,
  "contentDigest": "e0556db6dd4887198b78f55ab0c7f5fecfd6e972f8497f7a7c9e6b1ded62e92b",
  "id": "news-oct25-albania-tirana-central-substation-contract-2026",
  "language": "en",
  "interfaceLanguage": "en",
  "url": "https://voltformer.com/news/albania-tirana-central-substation-20m-euro-contract-2026",
  "slug": "albania-tirana-central-substation-20m-euro-contract-2026",
  "category": "transmission-substations",
  "publishDate": "2026-10-23",
  "sourceName": "Radio Televizioni Shqiptar (RTSH)",
  "sourceUrl": "https://rtsh.al/rti/it/firmato-il-contratto-per-la-costruzione-della-sottostazione-centrale-di-tirana/",
  "readingTimeMinutes": 4,
  "tags": [
    "Albania",
    "Tirana",
    "Substation",
    "Electricity distribution",
    "Grid investment",
    "Project development"
  ],
  "content": {
    "title": "Albania signs €20 million contract for central Tirana substation",
    "summary": "OSHEE signed a construction contract with Croatia’s Dalekovod for a 200 MVA substation. The project is planned to take 22 months and is expected to serve more than 40,000 customers.",
    "tags": [
      "Albania",
      "Tirana",
      "Substation",
      "Electricity distribution",
      "Grid investment",
      "Project development"
    ],
    "sections": [
      {
        "heading": "Construction contract signed",
        "paragraphs": [
          "Albania’s electricity distribution group OSHEE signed a contract with Croatian company Dalekovod to build a new central substation in Tirana, RTSH reported from Tirana on 23 October. The broadcaster put the contract value at about €20 million and said the investment is financed through a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). The report says the financing agreement was signed on 27 March 2026 and entered into force on 25 September. OSHEE described the contract as completing the framework needed to proceed with the project. These details establish a signed construction agreement and a stated financing source; they do not provide the loan terms, the contractor’s detailed scope or the project’s full cost breakdown. The article’s timing also distinguishes the earlier financing milestones from the construction contract announced in October."
        ],
        "sources": [
          {
            "name": "RTSH",
            "url": "https://rtsh.al/rti/it/firmato-il-contratto-per-la-costruzione-della-sottostazione-centrale-di-tirana/"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "heading": "Planned substation configuration",
        "paragraphs": [
          "RTSH reports that the facility is designed for 200 MVA of installed capacity and will include four transformers rated at 50 MVA each. The project also specifies three 110 kV cable lines and 24 outgoing 20 kV feeders. Those ratings describe the planned electrical configuration, rather than an observed operating capability: the substation has not been reported as built or commissioned. The report characterizes the facility as the first of its kind in Albania and the wider Balkan region, a claim attributable to the project description rather than an independently verified regional inventory. The configuration indicates a central node intended to connect high-voltage supply with multiple medium-voltage distribution circuits in the capital. RTSH does not publish a single-line diagram, protection design, transformer arrangement or connection points, so detailed engineering conclusions cannot be drawn from the listed ratings alone."
        ],
        "sources": [
          {
            "name": "RTSH",
            "url": "https://rtsh.al/rti/it/firmato-il-contratto-per-la-costruzione-della-sottostazione-centrale-di-tirana/"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "heading": "Schedule and expected service area",
        "paragraphs": [
          "The contract is expected to be completed within 22 months from the start of works, RTSH said. The article does not state the exact construction start date, so the 22-month period should be treated as a contract duration measured from a future start, not as a fixed calendar commissioning date. OSHEE expects more than 40,000 customer connections to benefit from the new NST Qendër substation. The stated aims include increasing distribution capacity, improving security and quality of electricity supply, and improving network efficiency and reliability. RTSH also says the project is expected to help reduce technical losses and carbon emissions. These are intended benefits, not measured outcomes. The report does not quantify current losses, the expected reduction, emissions methodology, or which customers will be connected directly to the new equipment."
        ],
        "sources": [
          {
            "name": "RTSH",
            "url": "https://rtsh.al/rti/it/firmato-il-contratto-per-la-costruzione-della-sottostazione-centrale-di-tirana/"
          }
        ]
      },
      {
        "heading": "Analysis and limits",
        "paragraphs": [
          "The announcement moves the central Tirana substation from a financing framework to a signed construction contract and provides a first outline of its scale. The combination of 200 MVA, four transformers and multiple 110 kV and 20 kV circuits points to a major distribution-network node, but capacity ratings alone do not establish future reliability or actual customer outcomes. Delivery remains prospective: the construction period begins with the start of works, while commissioning and the connection sequence are not specified. The expected customer reach and efficiency gains are project objectives reported by RTSH, not post-completion measurements. For planners and developers, the next evidence points would be the start of construction, detailed connection arrangements, commissioning milestones and later performance data. Until then, the contract value, schedule and benefits should remain attributed to the broadcaster’s report."
        ],
        "sources": [
          {
            "name": "RTSH",
            "url": "https://rtsh.al/rti/it/firmato-il-contratto-per-la-costruzione-della-sottostazione-centrale-di-tirana/"
          }
        ]
      }
    ]
  },
  "companies": [],
  "sourceVersion": "aa7c5b9d72b07f9e79619d5b060991459d762fd3df92ca8b9dffaa5a34b26226"
}