Republic of Srpska drafts amendments to Law on Energy

The Government of the Republic of Srpska said it passed the Draft Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Energy with the aim to align it with newer laws and the Energy Development Strategy.

The current Law on Energy of the Republic of Srpska came into force in 2009, so there is a need to bring it into accordance with the Law on Electricity, Law on Gas, Law on Renewable Energy Sources, Law on Energy Efficiency and the Energy Development Strategy, which were adopted in the meantime, the entity government said.

The entity government adopted the Draft Law on Amendments and Supplements to the Law on Energy. It pointed out that it harmonized the schedules and definitions as well as the certificates for facilities where electricity is generated from renewable sources and for the guarantee of origins. The cabinet said also determined its jurisdiction over the adoption of the Energy Development Strategy as a sectoral strategy for the Republic of Srpska.

Bosnia and Herzegovina consists of the Republic of Srpska and the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a slightly larger entity.

In addition, changing the law will set the legal basis for the adoption of Srpska’s energy and climate plan and for defining its content, deadlines, adoption procedure and the institutions responsible for producing it.

The electricity sector’s decarbonization, namely the reduction and eventual phaseout of fossil fuels in electricity generation, should take priority in the preparation of integrated energy and climate plans, energy experts from BiH Damir Miljević and Mirza Kušljugić recently wrote in an op-ed for Balkan Green Energy News.