BH Gas to Kopač: RS, through the Regulator in Trebinje, is committing violence against the only transport system in BiH

SARAJEVO, (Patria) - In order to inform the public in a timely and fact-based manner, BH-Gas issued a statement, as they state they are obliged to respond to the claims made by Janez Kopač, Director of the Energy Community Secretariat, regarding the adopted Framework Energy Strategy of BiH.

BH Gas reacted to the statement "for example, in the area of gas, the Federation of BiH does not have a law at all, it has a gas market and consumers who are completely unprotected. The company BH-Gas has no interest in this being resolved.".

While thanking Kopač for the great effort invested in creating the prerequisites for BiH to adopt the EU acquis, they emphasize that BH-Gas participated in the drafting of the Framework Energy Strategy of BiH for this purpose, and the adoption of this strategy was, among other things, a request from the Energy Community.

The Embassy of Great Britain and the Delegation of the European Commission in Sarajevo made an immeasurable contribution to the drafting of the strategy, and were the first to welcome its adoption.

Regarding the law at the BiH level that Kopač is talking about, BH-Gas, through the participation of its representatives in the working group, contributed in the areas where it was possible for the law to reflect the binding legislation of the Energy Community and the EU. The initial text of the law, over the years of drafting, was reduced to only 5 articles in the law in the gas sector.

BH-Gas's remark is that the Third Energy Package cannot be applied through 5 articles of the law, and that tariffs and tariff calculations, balancing, licenses, international representation, and a fully authorized regulator should be at the state level. The future will show that this position is correct, because RS is now, through the Regulator in Trebinje, committing violence against the only transport system in BiH.

The RS Gas Law has taken over ALL state competencies, which is very well known to Kopač, but unfortunately for all citizens in the Federation of BiH, he does not mention it in his statement. FBiH does not need a law now, even conditionally, because RS has (illegally) taken over all competencies at the only entry point for gas in BiH - Zvornik, and has started regulating gas transport prices, licensing, international representation, etc., etc. - BH-Gas points out.

For this purpose, during the last discussions at the headquarters of the Energy Community Secretariat, BH-Gas proposed that Bosnia and Herzegovina adopt a gas law that corresponds to the law of Serbia/Croatia/Slovenia or any other country that is a member of the Energy Community, i.e., the EU.

- Therefore, there is no basis whatsoever to criticize BH-Gas or anyone from the Federation of BiH when we are sure (confirmed through minutes of numerous meetings) that everyone from FBiH would accept the adoption of any law from the mentioned countries. On the other hand, the question remains why RS does not want to adopt a gas law, for example, from Serbia, in order to start an investment cycle in this area, so that all consumers in BiH are uniformly protected.

Consumers in the Federation of BiH are not protected, because there is currently an attack on FBiH consumers from RS and Serbia through unacceptable transport prices, or rather through blackmail to accept them. All of this is being done for the purpose and intention of taking over the market in FBiH, and RS indeed does not want the adoption of a gas law at the state level, because such laws would protect consumers throughout the territory of BiH, provided that a uniform tariff determination method is established at the BiH level - they further state.

Finally, with full respect, they ask Kopač to accept the proposal and demand, for example, the adoption of an identical gas law from Serbia, for which BH-Gas will provide full support, regardless of the unfounded criticisms that are the subject of this letter.

- These activities would precisely confirm Kopač's good intentions towards consumers in the Federation of BiH, and to the delight of consumers, he has such competencies - they added.