The information portal "Demokracia.com" published yesterday (September 16, 20:17) an article titled "BREAKING NEWS | Block A3 is closed, reductions start at 24:00".
This article claims that, according to information, power cuts will begin at 24:00, as a result of the shutdown of the A3 unit. And, according to this portal, this will continue to be kept secret by KEK.
However, in the announcement of KEK through its official Facebook page (September 17, 21:26) it is stated that the A-3 unit is in operation but is planned to be shut down for 4-5 days. The announcement further makes it clear that there are no expected reductions in electricity.
On the other hand, the Kosovo Electricity Distribution Company (KEDS) announced yesterday (September 17) that there will be electricity reductions in several municipalities in Kosovo, but that they are due to network works.
Therefore, the claim by "Demokracia.com" that the reductions will start at 24:00 as a result of the shutdown of unit A3 is not in line with the official position of KEK and the KEDS plan.
Excerpt from the article published on the "Demokracia.com" portal:
The shutdown of the A3 block, as Demokracia.com has learned, is being done due to a leak and after midnight today, reductions are also planned in most municipalities in Kosovo, but this continues to be kept hidden by KEK.
Demokracia.com attempted to speak with KEK spokesperson, Skënder Bucolli, to ask him about the decommissioning of A3 and the planned reductions, but he did not answer the phone or return SMS.
Link to the article published on the "Demokracia.com" portal:
KEK's announcement regarding the planned 4-5 day outage of unit A3 can be found here. here.
KEK Announcement:
The Kosovo Energy Corporation announces that unit A-3 is in operation but is planned for a 4-5 day shutdown.
In this regard, KEK has taken all necessary measures to cover planned shortages, so no electricity reductions are expected.
All the best,
Department for Public Relations and Communities
Kosovo Energy Corporation
A few minutes after the publication of the announcement by KEK, on the official Facebook page, “Demokracia.com” has reacted with an article, through which they bring up the same claim again. However, in this case, within the content they also present a video with images of a road, shot from a moving vehicle. However, the author provides other details that could be linked to the claim made. (see here)
To further clarify the fact that the electricity outages in some municipalities of Kosovo are a result of network works and not the shutdown of the A3 unit, as "Demokracia.com" claims, hibrid.info has also consulted the KEDS announcement for electricity reductions, but, as stated in the announcement, they will occur only as a result of network works and not as a result of a lack of supply, as the aforementioned portal claims.
You can find KEDS's announcement regarding electricity reductions due to network works here. here.
The "Demokracia.com" article has also been published by several online media in Kosovo as "Botasot.info","GazetaExpress.com”And“Voice.info".
Analyze:
The claim made by the online medium “Demokracia.com” about electricity reductions as a result of the collapse of the “A3” block of the “Kosova A” thermal power plant is unfounded. The author makes this claim, as he writes, based on what he “has learned”, but without presenting any facts or details that complete the argument. In addition, the article does not state whether the information comes from a source within KEK or any relevant institution.
This claim was later refuted by a KEK announcement, which made the information irrelevant. In the second article, which follows the first, this medium continues to contradict KEK's announcement, but again does not provide any additional facts. Even KEDS, in their announcement about the electricity situation on September 17, does not write that there will be power cuts as a result of a lack of supply, but as a result of network works.
Based on the treatment of the facts and their analysis, hibrid.info assesses this article as "Unverified Content".
Reasoning:
The “Unverified” rating is given to those media reports that do not provide sufficient information to confirm the claims made in the report, and which have not been able to confirm the same due to the lack or non-possession of reliable sources.