Today, in the Brđani neighborhood of North Mitrovica, workers from Elektrosever faced physical attacks while attempting, for the third time, to install electricity meters at several households, according to information confirmed by the company to KoSSev.
Given prior experiences with the same families, Elektrosever staff were accompanied by a team from KEDS and a unit from the Kosovo Police for assistance. However, despite this precaution, the workers had to retreat after allegedly facing verbal abuse, physical shoving, and damage to their official vehicle.
Kosovo Police, despite reportedly being on-site, claimed no knowledge of the incident when contacted for comment.
Verbal Abuse Escalates to Physical Altercation
Jovana Jovanović, a spokesperson for Elektrosever, confirmed the incident, explaining that the affected households, inhabited by ethnic Albanians, had resisted previous attempts to install electricity meters.
“These households do not possess meters at all. This was our third visit. On the first two occasions, these residents voiced strong opposition, and our workers were forced to leave,” ,” Jovanović stated.
The meters in question are external devices installed outside private property, she clarified.
Due to prior resistance, Jovanović noted that Elektrosever workers arrived at the households today accompanied by a team from KEDS and a patrol from Kosovo Police to ensure their safety. However, despite these precautions, the residents’ opposition nearly escalated into a incident, Jovanović explained.
According to her, residents verbally abused the workers with offensive language, physically shoved them, and damaged the company’s vehicle by attempting to remove its license plates.
“They grouped together, starting with verbal insults. They cursed their ‘četnik mother’ and used similar slurs. Then, they physically shoved them and attempted to remove the license plates from the official vehicle, damaging it in the process,” Jovanović described.
Workers Forced to Retreat
To avoid further escalation, both Elektrosever and KEDS staff withdrew from the scene.
In the aftermath, Elektrosever plans to deliberate on resolving the issue with these households.
“These residents need to be integrated into the legal electricity consumption system. Like everyone else, they consume electricity, and at some point, they will have to sign contracts and install meters to register their usage,” Jovanović said.
She emphasized that anyone consuming electricity without a meter is classified as an illegal user.
Police Remain Silent
While Jovanović confirmed the police presence at the scene, Kosovo Police denied knowledge of the incident when contacted by KoSSev.
However, Jovanović stated that officers remained on-site after the workers left.
Petković: This clearly shows that Albanians are unwilling to sign contracts with Elektrosever
The incident in Brđani was brought up today in Brussels during a new round of dialogue between Belgrade and Pristina.
„I informed Lajčak, and I also addressed Bislimi, about the incident in Brđani, where a group of Albanians physically attacked Serbian Elektrosever workers who were there with KEDS in an effort to install electricity meters. This clearly shows that Albanians are unwilling to sign contracts with Elektrosever and refuse to pay their electricity bills. Such actions directly undermine both Elektrosever and the agreement,“ stated Petar Petković, head of Belgrade’s negotiating team.
Preuzimanje i objavljivanje tekstova sa portala KoSSev nije dozvoljeno bez navođenja izvora. Hvala na poštovanju etike novinarske profesije.
