President of the Bosnia and Herzegovina CIGRE Committee, Zijad Bajramović, has described the recent adoption of the law on the regulator, transmission, and electricity market as a crucial milestone in the country’s alignment with the European Union’s integrated energy market.
The new legislation marks progress in fulfilling Bosnia and Herzegovina’s international obligations, establishing a framework for a competitive wholesale electricity market, and enhancing the security and reliability of the energy system through a stronger regulatory structure. A central element of the reform is the creation of an electricity exchange, a formalized market operator that will act as the contracting counterpart for both electricity buyers and sellers. Optimistic forecasts suggest the exchange could be established and connected to the internal EU electricity market within a year of the law’s adoption.
However, Bajramović pointed out that forming the exchange involves more than simply creating an independent operator. It requires comprehensive efforts in staffing, building technical systems, and developing an organizational structure. Furthermore, the process of market coupling involves negotiating and concluding several dozen harmonized agreements, protocols, and rulebooks with neighboring and regional electricity exchanges and market participants. This integration phase is projected to take at least two to three years.
Between 2018 and 2023, Bosnia and Herzegovina maintained a significant net physical electricity export, averaging 4 terawatt-hours annually—approximately 25 percent of its total production. However, due to coal supply issues and unfavorable hydrological conditions, net electricity exports declined in 2024 and into 2025. Despite this, the country continues to maintain a positive export balance of around 2 terawatt-hours per year, largely due to independent producers who export nearly all of their generated power.
Establishing the electricity exchange and integrating it into the regional market may also pave the way for a potential exemption from the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). To qualify for this exemption, Bosnia and Herzegovina must fully implement into national legislation the essential EU provisions on organized electricity markets and market coupling, and apply them in both technical and operational practice.
