by Jason Snell
Coal in Kosovo slows clocks in Paris
Power grids are vital to our existence and stranger than you’d think.
Continental Europe boasts the world’s largest synchronous electricity grid—energy flows freely across the borders of 25 countries, at a fixed frequency of 50 Hz that is maintained by close coordination between the region’s power companies….
According to the European Network of Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E), [Kosovo] was from mid-January to this week consuming more energy than it produced, to the cumulative tune of 113 gigawatt hours.
Initial speculation was that energy might have been stolen by cryptocurrency miners, but it seems that the sapping of the European grid has more to do with the northern region of Kosovo (which is largely loyal to Serbia, a country that does not recognize Kosovo’s independence) continuing to use power while not being billed by the Kosovo government.