The smallest of the three power utility in Bosnia and Herzegovina – EP HZHB said that, due to severe drought, the output of its hydropower plants, which supply the majority of its electricity, is at minimum. Therefore, the utility is having problems with covering demand within its supply area, which covers some 200,000 consumers, of which 180,000 are households.
So far, EP HZHB was covering the deficit via electricity imports, but due to the ongoing energy crisis, there are less and less electricity in the market. In addition, electricity prices skyrocketed, which puts additional financial strain on the company.
EP HZHB addressed the Government of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), which is the majority owner of the utility, stating that the utility has priority of buying electricity produced in the Federation. This effectively means, that EPBiH, the other power utility operating in FBiH, should not be allowed to export its electricity surplus, but should sell it to EP HZHB at market prices. EP HZHB also urged the Government to ban all direct or indirect electricity exports by the end of September.
However, EPBiH replied that it is unable to help EP HZHB in providing electricity supply, due to its mandatory capacity reserve of 100 MW. If this capacity is used for supplying electricity to EP HZHB, in case of any unplanned outages EPBiH will be forced to import electricity at extremely high prices.
