Elektroprivreda BiH: Customers Supplied Normally, Plants Operating as Scheduled

(Patria) - Following yesterday's issues in the power systems of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Croatia, and Albania, all customers of Elektroprivreda BiH are being supplied with electricity normally. The facilities of the hydropower plants on the Neretva River, and the blocks at the Tuzla and Kakanj thermal power plants are operating according to the planned schedule. The power system of Bosnia and Herzegovina has been restored and stabilized, and is now operating at full capacity.

The outage and disruption in the power grid, which occurred outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina on June 21, 2024, at 12:25 PM, led to a complete shutdown of Elektroprivreda BiH's production facilities and an interruption of electricity supply. Thanks to the experience, professional conduct, and swift reaction of Elektroprivreda BiH employees, the facilities of the hydropower plants on the Neretva River were gradually brought back online around 1:30 PM. Simultaneously, intensive efforts were made to restore the operational capability of the facilities at the Tuzla and Kakanj thermal power plants and their gradual return to production.

"Elektroprivreda BiH could not prevent this problem, as it originated outside our country's borders, but we took all necessary measures to stabilize the system as quickly as possible. All on-call teams were deployed, we put all production capacities into full operation, and engaged additional capacities. We also purchased additional electricity on the market to ensure normal supply to citizens in the shortest possible time. Within two to three hours of the disruption, we re-established normal supply for all our customers," stated Dr. Sanel Buljubašić, General Director of Elektroprivreda BiH.

All activities were undertaken by Elektroprivreda BiH employees with the professional implementation of safety measures to protect production and distribution facilities, thereby avoiding damage and enabling their return to operational status. Elektroprivreda BiH, in communication with Elektroprijenos BiH and the Independent System Operator in BiH, carried out gradual load on the grid through coordinated increases in production and customer supply.

"We thank all services that worked on resolving this problem for their swift and adequate response. Timely action prevented failures and accidents on critical infrastructure, as well as numerous other consequences that a prolonged supply interruption would have caused, from problems in hospitals to the water supply for citizens. Situations like this happen occasionally and we cannot prevent them, but we can work on further strengthening the stability of the power system of Bosnia and Herzegovina and improving the system of automatic protection mechanisms, which would limit the spread and mitigate the consequences," emphasized Dr. Buljubašić.

The power grid outages and disruptions that occurred outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina and caused an interruption in the production and distribution of electricity in our country, consequently leading to a series of problems in the conduct of daily life, have once again highlighted the importance of preserving the integrity and operational stability of the system. At a time when we are facing extremely high temperatures, electricity consumption significantly increases, which puts a strain on the grid. Elektroprivreda BiH appeals to its customers to use energy more efficiently, in order to avoid problems in its production and distribution to end consumers.

The total system collapse we faced due to problems outside our country has not been recorded in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the last few decades. "Total system collapse" is a technical term for a situation where all production is interrupted and there is no electricity supply from external interconnections. Power grid failures occur periodically worldwide and cannot be prevented, but the protection system and faster system restoration can be improved.