Residents of a building on Bosanska Street in Sarajevo still in the dark and without heating!

(Patria) - The new year 2026 did not start with celebrations for the residents of Bosanska Street 9 in Alipašino Polje (Phase C) in Sarajevo, but rather in darkness, cold, and uncertainty as to whether the fault will be fixed.

Namely, since yesterday at 8:00 AM, 48 apartments at this address have been without electricity. As the residents explained to us, their heating was also turned off last night from midnight. This means that in 2026, more than 80 residents, including the elderly, children, and babies, are spending their second consecutive day in the cold and without electricity. Additionally, many of them live on higher floors, so they are forced to walk, for example, to the 10th floor because the elevator is not working due to the lack of electricity.

As explained to us, a window was left open in one of the apartments, and when the temperature dropped below zero, radiator pipes burst. Subsequently, the electrical cabinets in the hallway flooded, leading to a fault in the electrical installations, and as we were told, water also entered two apartments, causing material damage.

In one of these apartments, there was a bedridden elderly person who was evacuated last night.

The residents contacted the building manager, Sarajevostan, however, they were told that the repair of the mentioned fault is not within their jurisdiction but that of Elektrodistribucija (Power Distribution).

They stated the same in a letter to Elektrodistribucija, about which the floor owners were informed through their representative.

Among other things, in that letter, Sarajevostan informed Elektrodistribucija Sarajevo that there is a fault in the electrical installations before the meter in the building at Bosanska Street 9, which means, according to their explanation, that the repair is not the responsibility of the building manager, but of Elektrodistribucija. Due to the serious risk of fire, especially before the holidays and with increased electricity consumption, urgent intervention was requested.

"Since we are the building manager at the address Bosanska 9, upon the call of the Floor Owners' Representative (PEV), we went to the site and determined that there is a fault in the electrical installations before the meter (switch). Given that, in accordance with Article 6, Paragraph 1, Point c) of the Law on the Management of Common Parts of Buildings ('Official Gazette of KS', No. 19/17), the common building installations represent electrical installation lines and devices from the meter (excluding the meter), outgoing fuses, outgoing supply line from the distribution board to the floor owners' distribution board (excluding the distribution board), and in this specific case, the location of the fault is before the meter, we kindly request the addressee for URGENT action and fault repair to prevent further damage to the floor owners of the building at Bosanska Street 9, and we emphasize that there is a risk of fire, and we request appropriate action as the relevant repair and intervention is not within the jurisdiction of the manager – Sarajevostan d.o.o Sarajevo. The manager's responsibility is from the meter to the floor owners' distribution boards, therefore the lines 'before the meter' are not within the manager's jurisdiction but are the exclusive jurisdiction of Elektrodistribucija," the letter stated.

However, based on the residents' claims, it is not that simple. As explained to us, Elektroprivreda (Power Utility) came to the site and cut off the power to prevent further damage, however, Elektrodistribucija is requesting an order from Sarajevostan to be able to act on it and fix the fault.

In the meantime, they add, responsibilities are being shifted from one to another while the residents spend another night in uncertainty.

"We contacted Sarajevostan, from where they told us they cannot do anything before Monday. Then we got the number of a man from service operations, who they say is the boss, who contacted the director and told us that the director told him he does not want to sign and issue an order to Elektrodistribucija to come and replace the switches to bridge them so they can turn on the electricity. And now we are waiting. Our second option is to find a private company that will do the certification of the installations and allow us to have electricity. We expect and hope, but officially for now, nothing can be done before Monday," Samir Bičić, one of the residents, told us.

"Yesterday at 8 AM, the apartment flooded, and all the water went into the electrical installations and power, and Elektroprivreda came and cut off our electricity, with no one taking any action on the matter. As you can see here, all the meters are open. Sarajevostan came and told us it was not their responsibility, and Elektroprivreda also came and said it was not their responsibility, and now there is a dispute between them," added Ramiz Ramljak, the residents' representative, who then explained the specific problem faced by the people living in the building at Bosanska Street 9:

"We have 48 apartments in this building, and there are elderly people, children, babies in them. We had a bedridden person whom we had to evacuate to a home. Last night they turned off our heating at 12 o'clock, the apartments are cold, I also had to take my family to my mother's. Everything is destroyed, including in the refrigerators, we have no solution, we don't know what to do. One apartment is completely destroyed, and we moved the woman who was in it to a home. We have informed and contacted everyone. Civil Protection has also been informed, they came to the site and inspected everything, however, Sarajevostan told us that they do not want to come to the site and at least try to solve the problem until Monday, when they will probably take some action".

However, besides the repair of the electrical installation fault, which the residents are eagerly awaiting, the question arises as to who will repair the damage caused in the apartments for which the affected people are not responsible?