Bosnians to Pay More for Power in Open Market

The regulator in Bosnia's autonomous Bosniak-Croat Federation approved on Monday the region's two power utilities raising household electricity prices in January when Bosnia's power market is due to become fully open.

 

Under the decision by the Federation Energy Regulatory Commission (FERK), Bosnia's top power utility EPBiH and the smaller utility EPHZHB will increase their rates by 4.3 percent and nearly 2 percent respectively.

 

The electricity price is a politically sensitive issue in the Balkan country, where power bills consume a large slice of household income, especially in the winter. The increase is the first in three years.

 

Bosnia is set to complete market liberalisation in January 2015, when households will be able to choose their preferred supplier.

 

However, majority state-run utilities EPBiH, EPHZHB and EPRS , located in the Serb Republic, Bosnia's other autonomous half, which all sell power below market price, are expected to retain their dominant position.

 

Bosnia generates 40 percent of its electricity from hydro power and the rest from coal-fired plants, making it one of the few countries in the Balkans able to export electricity.