The current director of the Secretariat of the Energy Community based in Vienna, Janez Kopac, told N1 that the newly adopted amendments to the Law on Electricity in Bosnia’s Federation (FBiH) entity, which limit the increase in electricity prices to a maximum of 20 percent are contrary to the Community’s legal order and sets a precedent in one part of the country.

“This law is contrary to the legal order of the Energy Community, which is an international obligation of BiH. The Electricity Market Directive allows for limited price regulation for households, and not for industrial customers. I understand the emotions due to the currently high electricity prices, but they (the FBiH govt.) could temporarily help the economy in a way that would not be contrary to international obligations. The government in the neighbouring Republic of Serbia has temporarily obliged the state-owned Elektroprivreda Srbije not to raise prices for industrial buyers to the current market level. They did that as owners and thus did not disturb the electricity markets, while the latest law of the FBiH establishes a new legal order in one part of BiH,” Kopac warned.

The amendments adopted by the FBiH Parliament on the penultimate day last year delighted the entrepreneurs but they completely surprised this expert because they are contrary to the legal order of the Energy Community.

“I am most saddened by the fact that this law violates the legal order of the state of BiH and I am not sure that those who voted for this unnecessary law are aware of the tragic consequences for BiH that will be the result of such a senseless and rapid response to panic over market developments,” Kopac concluded.

Industrial buyers, delighted with the amendments to the FBiH Law on Electricity, said that “there will be no shutdown of production or dismissals of workers, hoping that contracts on electricity prices signed by some companies earlier will be annexed.”