The Electricity Law creates the basis for the reorganization of ERS, but the model is not selected yet and will have to be in line with the new rules on the market. The Parliament of the Republic of Srpska (RS) has adopted the new Electricity Law which is aligned with the EU’s Third Energy Package, thus enabling further market liberalization.
The new law envisages the unbundling, the reorganization of state-owned power utility ERS, introduces the status of a protected consumer, the possibility of establishing energy cooperatives, and standards for the development of e-mobility. It is in line with the international commitments of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the RS under the Energy Community Treaty.
According to the Ministry of Energy and Mining, network operations will be separated from electricity supply and generation businesses, but will remain regulated, while the two latter activities would be based on market principles.
The new law stipulates that all categories of customers will be able to choose their suppliers freely, therefore its expected that new suppliers will enter the market. Small commercial customers and households which do not choose the suppler will have the right to be provided with a universal supply service under regulated conditions.
The law also introduces the category of a protected consumer, which refers to vulnerable households and those that have a member whose health may be endangered in case of termination of supply.
