Proposed changes to the European Union’s Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism could reduce the cost faced by Bosnia and Herzegovina’s electricity exporters by as much as €13 million annually. Bosnia says the revisions could save exporters €13 million a year, with potential effects on competitiveness for regional power sales into the EU. The changes are linked to how emissions associated with imported electricity are calculated.
How CBAM would treat electricity mix and power-purchase agreements
The proposed approach would allow the actual electricity mix of an exporting country, including renewable generation, to play a greater role when emissions associated with imported electricity are calculated. Electricity supplied through qualifying power-purchase agreements could also receive actual-emissions treatment. This includes certain transactions involving intermediaries.
The changes could apply from Jan. 1, 2026. Bosnia and Herzegovina is preparing a methodology for calculating the carbon dioxide emission factor of its electricity grid. The calculation is described as important because the generation mix combines substantial coal-fired production with large hydroelectric output.
Grid emission factors and documentation systems across the region
Bosnia says using an undifferentiated or conservative emissions assumption can make exported electricity appear significantly more carbon intensive than individual transactions may actually be. It says a more granular framework could increase the value of renewable electricity and PPAs. The same framework would also encourage generators and traders to improve metering, contractual traceability, and guarantees-of-origin systems.
The implications extend beyond Bosnia as CBAM increasingly links physical electricity trading with carbon documentation. Serbia, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Albania are also developing electricity-origin and emissions-accounting systems. These efforts relate to how emissions information will be handled alongside cross-border power flows into the EU.
