Focus on Energy, 2010 - Karanovic & Nikolic

BIH does not have oil pipelines apart from where the oil refinery in Brod has been connected with the AdriaticPipeline in Croatia.The RS has adopted the Law on Oil and Oil Derivatives 16 that prescribes the main features for the oil sectorin RS when it comes to the production of oil derivatives, market functioning and safe supply.CoalBIH has significant reserves of coal and most of them are used for the production of electric power in TPPs.Major coal mines are Stanari, Ugljevik, Kreka, Banovici, Kakanj, Gacko and Zenica. Reserves of lignite areestimated to be in the region of 3.7 billion tons whilst reserves of brown coal are estimated to be in theregion of 2.2 billion tons.In RS the major coal mines Gacko and Ugljevik are integrated with thermal power plants, whilst Stanari isowned by Energy Financing Team who plan to construct a TPP nearby. In FBIH, seven coal mines, besidesthose already integrated with nearby TPPs, are part of the Elektroprivreda FBIH since 2009.Renewable Energy60The Law on Energy in the RS 17 states that both the exploitation of renewable sources of energy and efficientcogeneration are of equal importance to the RS. This is in order to ensure a reduction in the production ofelectricity from fossil fuel sources. This in turn should reduce the negative impact that energy generationhas on the surrounding environment. This is also an effort to promote the efficient utilization of energyand the development of new technologies. It is also motivated by the need to promote a variety of energysources, to increase energy safety and to decrease the dependency that the RS has on the importation ofenergy in the long term.FOCUS ON ENERGYThe Law on Energy prescribes that the RS Government should adopt a regulation containing measures tostimulate the increase of renewable energy sources and production. It is also envisaged by the RS Law onEnergy that such a regulation should also promote the use of biofuels in fuel consumption attributable tothe transport sector.RCERS shall with the RS Government develop a system of subsidies for the production of renewablesources. The RS Law on Energy also prescribes that producers of electricity from renewable sources canbe granted a certificate of origin certifying that the production facility produces power from renewablesources and with respect to energy efficiency and the protection of the environment.PARTICIPANTS IN THE ENERGY SECTORThe legal framework for the energy sector in BIH is defined firstly, on a state level, mainly through therules on the transmission of electricity, foreign trade and the provisions of the general legal framework forthe sector’s opening. Secondly, it is defined on the entities’ level, containing detailed provisions on howthe energy sector is to be opened up to foreign investment and how the regulation of energy production,distribution, supply and domestic trade is to occur.State LevelOn a state level, the “Law on the Transmission, Regulation and System Operation of Electrical Energy inBIH” 18 established the initial legal framework for the regulation of the electric power sector and the establishmentof an electric power market. In particular, with respect to the electricity transmission system in BIH,this law has organized the establishment and the functioning of the State Electricity Regulatory Commission16 the Law on Oil and Oil Derivatives (Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska no. 36/09)17 The Law on Energy (Official Gazette of the Republic of Srpska no. 49/09),18 the Law on the Transmission, Regulation and System Operation of Electrical Energy in BIH (Offcial Gazette of Bosnia and Herzegovina Nos. 07/02,13/03 and 76/09)