New electricity law takes shape in Bosnia and Herzegovina

Bosnian entities have agreed on the text of a new law regulating the country’s electricity market. In addition to legislation on the electricity regulator and transmission, the law lays the foundations for the Bosnian power exchange, which will be based in Mostar. With this regulation, BiH will also fulfil a key condition for exemption from the carbon tax (CBAM), namely the adoption of EU electricity market rules.

The meeting, held in Vienna with Artur Lorkovski, Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, was attended by Vedran Lakić, Federal Minister of Energy, Mines and Industry; Petar Đokić, Minister of Energy and Mines of Republika Srpska; and Staša Košarac, Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Minister Lakić expressed satisfaction with the agreement reached. “We have reason to be satisfied, especially given the circumstances in which our country currently finds itself, because this is an important step on the path to exempting Bosnia and Herzegovina from paying the EU carbon tax. In this way, we will protect exporters from all parts of BiH to the EU, and we will be able to use the revenue from the tax for projects within our country rather than the money going to the EU. We managed to convince the negotiators to accept all the conditions set by the Federation of BiH, which will ensure a harmonised and sustainable framework for the electricity sector. After exhaustive and demanding negotiations, we managed to ensure that BiH is no longer the only country that has neither its own law nor an electricity exchange.”

Following the review, the law will be put on the agenda of the Council of Ministers of Bosnia and Herzegovina.