Co-applicants:
N/A
Donor:
Kosovo Energy Distribution Services (KEDS)
Short Summary:
The project “Community Consequences of Energy Theft” by BIRN Kosovo, proposed to KEDS, aims to raise public awareness about the social, financial, and legal impacts of electricity theft in Kosovo. Running from July 2025 to June 2026, the initiative builds on BIRN’s long history of investigative reporting and public education campaigns in the energy sector. The project includes a broad media campaign, on-site filming with KEDS inspection teams, educational TV programs and social media videos, reports on court cases related to electricity theft, and journalist training. Its main goals are to educate citizens on how energy theft increases electricity prices, strengthen trust in accountability mechanisms, highlight criminal and safety risks, and improve the media’s capacity to report on energy-related issues. The expected outcome is greater public understanding, increased reporting of energy theft, and improved collaboration between media, institutions, and citizens in promoting responsible energy use.
Project goal:
The overall objective of the action is to educate the public about the financial, legal, and safety consequences of electricity theft in Kosovo, while encouraging citizens to report such cases and strengthening trust in accountability mechanisms.
Target Groups:
- General public / electricity consumers
- Citizens who may witness or engage in electricity theft
- Journalists and media professionals
- KEDS inspectors and employees
- Public institutions involved in energy regulation and justice
Expected results:
1: Over 5 million views for the televised and online materials broadcast on TV and shared across social media platforms
2: 20 KEDS employees trained for public appearances and media communication
3: 15 journalists trained in reporting on issues related to the energy sector
4: Increase in the number of cases reported to KEDS regarding electricity theft
Main Activities:
1: Education Program on Energy Bills – A media campaign, including a 75-minute TV program (broken into 10 short videos), explaining how electricity theft affects energy prices for consumers.
2: Program to Increase Reporting on Electricity Theft – Filming 7 episodes (up to 15 minutes each) following KEDS inspection teams during field operations, re-edited into 30 short videos for social media. Includes training KEDS employees for media appearances.
3: Education on Criminal Consequences – Producing 10 short TV reports from court cases where individuals are penalized for electricity theft, distributed via Kallxo.
4: Education on Safety Risks – Producing a 50-minute TV report and five short social media videos highlighting property damage and fire risks caused by illegal electricity connections, with interviews from fire experts and affected citizens.
5: Journalist Training Program – Two-day training for 15 journalists on professional reporting of energy issues, including study visits and guidance on media coverage of electricity theft.