Electricity & gas in Albania: your rights

The market

Households may choose their electricity supplier and are not obliged to switch: the Universal Service Supplier (FSHU) must keep supplying them at ERE-regulated prices. Switching is free once previous bills are paid; the grid operator OSSH runs an online switching portal. There is no household gas network.

Energy regulator

Enti Rregullator i Energjisë (ERE)

Dispute resolution

Enti Rregullator i Energjisë (ERE) – trajtimi i ankesave

First complain to your supplier. If it does not answer in time or you disagree, file ERE's standard complaint form (within 12 months). ERE forwards it within 15 days and the company must reply within 10 working days.

Compare prices official

PCT – Platforma e Krahasimit të Çmimeve (ERE)

Switching supplier

Changing supplier must not cost you anything extra, once all previous electricity bills are paid. Submit the request to your current supplier at least 15 days before; the change may take no longer than 15 days. OSSH also offers a free online portal (furnizuesi.oshee.al).

Price rises

Universal-service prices are set by ERE (for 2026: 8.5 lek/kWh up to 700 kWh a month, 9.5 lek/kWh for all use above). The supplier must publish a price change at least 15 calendar days before it applies. If you contest changed contract terms, you may leave without penalty.

Regulated price

Households supplied by FSHU pay ERE-approved prices: 8.5 lek/kWh up to 700 kWh a month, 9.5 lek/kWh for all use above that (1 January – 31 December 2026).

Help if money is tight

Households given 'customer in need' status (social criteria set by Council of Ministers decision) are registered with OSSH and the supplier and get extra protection against disconnection; some receive financial support from the state budget for their bills. Amounts and how to apply were not verified.

Protection against cut-off

Supply can be cut if a bill is still unpaid 30 days after the due date, with 48 hours' written notice; reconnection within 48 hours after payment. Not while a bill complaint is pending. 'Customers in need' get two notices (7 days to act) and an instalment offer, and are never cut at weekends, on holidays, at -15°C or if they rely on life-support equipment.

If your supplier goes bust

The Supplier of Last Resort (FMF) supplies, for a limited time and on regulated terms, customers who could not find a supplier or lost theirs (e.g. the previous supplier stopped supplying). Its prices are set by ERE and the supplier must tell you before a price change.

Power cut

For power cuts and questions call the OSHEE Group call centre, open 24 hours. ERE has a methodology for calculating economic damage caused to customers, and you can complain to ERE if the company does not resolve your case.

Cooling-off period

For contracts signed away from business premises (e.g. during an unsolicited visit to your home) worth at least 7,000 lek, and for distance contracts, you can withdraw within 14 calendar days without giving a reason.

Smart meter

Smart meters are not compulsory; you have no obligation to have one installed. You can still change supplier if you have one.

Solar panels

Households with a supply contract can install rooftop solar and apply at an OSSH customer centre for self-producer status; OSSH decides within 30 days. Surplus beyond your monthly use is sold to the Universal Service Supplier.

Energy sharing and communities

Under Law 24/2023, you can join a renewable energy community (komunitet i energjisë së rinovueshme) that produces, stores, sells and shares renewable power among its members, and you keep your rights as a consumer. Self-producers in the same building, including blocks of flats, may share the solar power produced there.

• Renewable self-producers can have up to 500 kW. Their compensation is based on net billing: each month the distribution operator bills the difference between electricity used and electricity fed into the grid. Details are set by Council of Ministers decision. (ere.gov.al)
• Every renewable energy community must enable and encourage low-income households or households in need to become members. Communities pay cost-reflective network tariffs set by ERE. (ere.gov.al)

Grants for heat pumps and insulation

The Energy Efficiency Agency (Agjencia për Eficencën e Energjisë) runs a programme subsidising solar panels for domestic hot water. A second call opened on 24 February 2025 for up to 2,000 families, first come first served, online only.

• Conditions of that call: average monthly use above 400 kWh in 2024 (not required for recipients of economic aid), no debt to OSHEE/FSHU, and a property certificate for the home. (eficenca.gov.al)

Back-billing and estimated bills

Your meter is read every 30 days and the bill sent within 10 days. If meter data are unavailable for over a month, substitute reference values under an ERE methodology may be billed for at most 3 months; after that, days without metering are billed at zero.

• You can contest a bill up to 1 year after it was issued. If you were overbilled, the supplier cancels it and issues a corrected bill; money already paid is credited within 3 months, otherwise with a 0.1% per day penalty. (ere.gov.al)
• A contested bill at least about double your average monthly bill is suspended and checked quickly, with a corrected bill within 10 days. Supply is not cut while your bill complaint is pending. (ere.gov.al)

Grid connection

For a new low-voltage connection up to 20 kW, apply with your documents at an OSSH customer care office. OSSH inspects the building and approves the connection point; the connection must be completed within 20 working days, and power is switched on when the meter is installed.

• OSSH calculates the connection cost; you must pay it within 7 working days of being notified, or the application is refused and you must apply again. Connection tariffs for households are set in the ERE regulation (amended by ERE decision no. 145 of 19.07.2024). (ere.gov.al)
• Home solar systems of 10.8 kW or less (self-producers) connect to the distribution grid after a notification to the distribution operator. (ere.gov.al)

Consumer organisation

Komisioni i Mbrojtjes së Konsumatorit (KMK)