Bosnia-Herzegovina adopts first country-wide energy efficiency action plan

The Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH) Council of Ministers adopted an energy efficiency action plan for BiH for the period from 2016 to 2018, a statement issued after the session said. The statement said the action plan defines measures and programs at the level of the entire BiH and within the competencies of the District of Brčko.

This is the first document on energy efficiency drawn up by a working group made up of representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of the BiH and the appropriate entity ministry as well as the District of Brčko.

The BiH energy efficiency action plan incorporated the Federation BiH (FBiH) energy efficiency action plan for the period between 2016 and 2018 and the changes and amendments to the energy efficiency action plan of the Republika Srpska (RS) up to the year 2018. Those entity action plans include detailed reports on energy savings in the previous period as well as planned measures and programs whose implementation falls within the jurisdiction of the two entities.

The FBiH government adopted temporary policy guidelines for the implementation of energy efficiency in the FBiH and the energy efficiency action plan for FBiH from 2016 to 2018 in July 2017 and the Republika Srpska government adopted the changes and amendments to the energy efficiency action plan for the RS up to the year 2018 on November 23, 2017.

The energy efficiency action plan at the level of the BiH was drawn up in line with the country’s obligations under the Energy Community Treaty and its decision to introduce directives on energy efficiency into the legislature of the countries which signed the Energy Community Treaty.

The action plan introduces new measures to raise energy efficiency levels in the production of electricity and energy for heating and cooling including central heating as well as new measures in the field of transport and distribution of electricity and natural gas, said the statement from the BiH Council of Ministers session which adopted the action plan.

The implementation of the new measures and programs aimed at increasing energy efficiency from the action plan will create conditions for new investments, the statement said.