Coal plant Kakanj in BiH halts electricity production amid record air pollution

Due to record air pollution levels in recent days, the Municipality of Kakanj requested that the local coal-fired power plant’s activity be reduced to supplying thermal energy for district heating only. The thermal power plant says it has already done so.

After “unprecedented” amounts of pollutants were measured in Kakanj, Mayor Mirnes Bajtarević asked the management of the Kakanj thermal power plant and state power utility Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine (EPBiH), as well as Federation of BiH Minister of Environment and Tourism Nasiha Pozder, to ensure that the operation of the power plant is urgently reduced to a minimum, only for the needs of the district heating system in Kakanj.

The power plant said that since Sunday, the only block in operation has been Unit 6, which supplies thermal energy for district heating in Kakanj, news portal Akta reported.

Kakanj, the second-largest electricity producer in the EPBiH portfolio, has three operational units with a total capacity of 450 MW. Unit 6 has a capacity of 110 MW.

The municipal authorities said in the statement that, if necessary, it would invite residents to protest in front of the thermal power plant, which is seen as the main culprit for the alarming air pollution levels in recent months.

The local cement plant is urged to stop using alternative fuels

According to BiH media reports, recent sulfur dioxide (SO₂) levels in Kakanj have exceeded all permitted limits, posing an immediate threat to public health.

The municipality also issued a fresh request to the FBiH inspection body to inspect the operation of the thermal power plant, as well as Heidelberg Materials Cement, which has been asked to stop using alternative fuels.

The municipality will also demand a report on the desulfurization project at Kakanj

The municipality said it would demand that the thermal power plant provide a report on the progress and timeline of works on the ongoing desulfurization project, including the expected completion date.

EPBiH is implementing the desulfurization project at units 6 and 7 at Kakanj, hoping to reduce SO2 emissions by about 98.5%. SO2 emissions will be reduced to below 150 mg/Nm3, or nearly 60 times lower than current levels, EPBiH said in October.

Last year, the company was the largest power producer in BiH. Kakanj generated 1,431 GWh or 27% of EPBiH’s output.

One of the largest SO2 emitters in the region

Three years ago, the Energy Community Secretariat opened a case against Bosnia and Herzegovina for failing to shut down two units at the Kakanj and Tuzla thermal power plants despite the expiry of the 20,000 operating hours permitted after January 1, 2018, under the opt-out mechanism.

Kakanj was also mentioned in Bankwatch’s annual Comply or Close report, published in June this year.

According to the report, six power generation units in the Western Balkans exceeded their individual ceilings for SO2 emissions by more than ten times – Ugljevik, Gacko, Tuzla 6 and Kakanj 7 in Bosnia and Herzegovina; Kostolac A2 in Serbia; and Bitola B1 and B2 in North Macedonia.