The Croatian Energy Market Operator (HROTE) will be part of the Croatian Transmission System Operator (HOPS), while the Croatian Environment and Nature Agency will become part of the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Energy.

This is the outcome of the Croatian government’s decision on the reduction of the number of state agencies, institutes, funds, companies, and other legal entities, the government said on its website.

Prime Minister Andrej Plenković said after the adoption of the decision to reduce the number of state institutions that as many as 54 entities will be terminated or merged with ministries or other legal entities.

The Croatian Transmission System Operator was founded in April 2005 as part of the restructuring of the electricity sector. The HOPS is in charge of management of the power system operation and the transmission of electricity. The HOPS’ owner is power utility Hrvatska Elektroprivreda (HEP).

The Croatian Energy Market Operator was founded at the same time as HOPS. HROTE organizes the power and natural gas market under the supervision of the Croatian Energy Regulatory Agency. The company also performs activities under the scheme for incentivizing renewable energy sources and combined heat and power generation, as well as the production of biofuels for transport.

The Croatian Environmental and Nature Agency was established in 2015, by fusing the Environmental Protection Agency and the State Institute for Nature Conservation (SINP).

The government’s decision also calls for merging HEP-Opskrba plinom, Program Sava, Plomin Holding, HEP – Education Center, Novenerg, and the Croatian Cleaner Production Center with HEP Grupa.