Džindić knew everything: How did Sarajevo end up with heating plants without gas?

(Patria) - This is just the beginning of further problems with both gas prices and quantities, said Almir Bečarević, former director of BH-Gas and a participant in every gas procurement over the last 20 years, for Patria. 

„Hopefully someone will eventually listen to what has been said since December 2020. This has never happened like this since 1980, when gas imports to BiH began. The gas pipeline is half-empty, and there are gas reductions in Sarajevo for the heating plants. As I publicly told the minister and mediator Nermin Džindić, in the end I will laugh at your catastrophic decisions,“ Bečarević stated.

It is true that Sarajevogas has fluctuations in gas consumption, but this was resolved through renominations, which have now been abolished. 

„You cannot blame Sarajevogas or Toplane Sarajevo when the temperature in Sarajevo fluctuates by up to 15 degrees during the day. You cannot blame someone for what nature does in a single day, but you can blame someone who fails to ensure gas renominations, which were in place until Energoinvest took over the gas procurement business. All of this is documented by BH-Gas, and there are people who have been handling renominations all these years. The current director of Sarajevogas, who was also a dispatcher at BH-Gas, is still there, and during the winter months he almost daily carried out gas renominations,“ Bečarević said.

He also questions how it is possible that the Federation of BiH, i.e., Energoinvest, is limited to 1.2 million standard cubic meters of gas per day. 

„Never, ever since 1980 has anyone in BiH been limited to 1.2 million standard cubic meters of gas per day. Now we are limited, and since there are no renominations, there is a problem. A problem that never existed because the gas pipeline capacity is 1.8 million standard cubic meters. The problem is because Energoinvest does not know how to procure gas and because everything that was good via the Hungarian route has now been abolished on the Turkish Stream. 

Minister Džindić was informed about all of this back in March 2021 and knew that this would happen with the switch to the Turkish Stream, but it was in vain. The Government of the Federation of BiH ordered that we stay on the old route, but in vain. My humble self begged Minister Džindić not to do this.

We asked for an analysis to be made, to consider all the advantages and disadvantages of switching to the Turkish Stream, and now the minister is offering the Sarajevo Canton to procure gas on their own.

Where to, minister, where, when now our only supply route is the Turkish Stream, there is no other. How to procure other gas when only Russian gas flows through the Turkish Stream. You knew everything, my minister,“ Bečarević emphasized.