Bosnia and Herzegovina Faces Significant Levies on Electricity Exports to Europe from 2026

(Patria) - BiH is the largest exporter of electricity in Europe. If it fails to implement its commitments, it will face significant levies on electricity exports starting January 1, 2026.

This was stated today by the Director of the Secretariat of the Energy Community (EC) Arthur Lorkowski, after a meeting of the Informal Ministerial Council of the Energy Community held in Banja Luka, reports Fena.

The Informal Ministerial Council of the Energy Community is composed of the energy ministers of all member states, and its members include the EU and nine signatory countries, potential EU members.

Among them is Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is presiding over the Informal Ministerial Council of the Energy Community this year.

- Bosnia and Herzegovina's goal is to ensure a secure continuity of electricity exports. This means that it needs to incorporate a set of measures into its legislation that involve the integration of the electricity market - explained Lorkowski.

In practical terms, as he stated, this means that all producers and traders of electricity can operate equally in the EU market, and thus attract significant investors.

According to him, the plan was to integrate the markets with the EU market by the end of 2025, but it is now clear that achieving this goal will be challenging. He cited delays in the implementation of European legislation as the reason.

The Minister of Energy of Republika Srpska, Petar Đokić, says that the authorities in the entire BiH, if they do not want significant burdens on electricity exports, should introduce levies on all electricity producers that emit CO2, i.e., carbon dioxide.

This would mean, as he said, an increase in electricity prices for the population and the economy. Đokić added that this was discussed at today's session, but did not specify whether it would be implemented.

The session of the Informal Ministerial Council of the Energy Community was chaired by the Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of BiH, Staša Košarac.

- Some information emerged today that a law on electricity will be passed at the BiH level. I firmly state that such a thing will not happen unless the entity energy ministries agree - said Košarac.

In addition to him, the session was chaired by the Deputy Director-General of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy, Mechthild Wosdofer.

The session was also attended by the Federal Minister of Energy, Vedran Lakić, but he did not address the public.

The Energy Community will hold another session in BiH at the end of the year, where certain decisions will be made.