Bosnia's state electricity regulator DERK said it had abolished the fee from the start of December for power generated inside the Balkan nation. "Traders will no longer be obliged to pay transmission tariff of 4.67 euros ($6.06) per megawatt-hour (MWh) for power generated inside the country," Almir Imamovic, the official of the state electricity regulator DERK told Reuters.
The region - which many agree is poised for fast growth in coming years as countries close the gap with western Europe - boasts a high number of shared borders with European Union nations, providing access to Greece, Turkey and Italy. But export fees, allocation of cross-border capacity and state control over prices are three main obstacles market participants have cited as barriers to growth of trading in South-eastern Europe. "This is a huge step forward that will boost competitiveness on the market and end monopoly of big energy traders," one Balkan trader told Reuters. "It will also bring the prices of power contract closer to benchmark German equivalents."
Bosnia, which is a net exporter for several months each year due to hydro reserves, has had around 300 MW of power for sale over the past two days, the trader added. Bosnia gets 40 percent of its electricity from hydro power, with the rest coming from coal-fired plants, making the Western Balkan country one of the few in the region capable of exporting power.
Its neighbours rely on imports to cover between 30 and 50 percent of their consumption. The country produced more than 14,000 GWh of electricity last year. Bosnia has planned to apply for membership of the EU this year but bickering among its ethnic Bosniak (Bosnian Muslim), Serb and Croat leaders has repeatedly stalled reforms since 2008, when it signed its association contract with the EU.