Unlike power companies, private companies are bright examples of intensive preparation and construction of renewable sources of electricity, and thanks to them, Bosnia and Herzegovina could meet the required goals, Edhem Bičakčić, a proven energy expert and president of the Regional Committee of Power Engineers (CIGRE) , said in an interview for “Avaz”.
On this occasion, he spoke about the unfulfilled promises of the previous directors of Eektroporivreda and the challenges in the transition of the electric power sector that await us.
Energy transition
The last United Nations conference highlighted the need to speed up the energy transition.
“At the 28th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP 28), it was pointed out that there is a need for a deep, rapid and sustainable reduction of greenhouse gases, and therefore the construction of renewable energy sources must be tripled and the annual growth of energy efficiency doubled by 2030. , in order to fulfill the goals of the energy transition,” said Bičakčić.
Such a decision confirms that the main role is played by renewable sources that pave the way for improving access to energy and security.
Failure to adapt to climate change is the second most severe long-term global risk, while failure to mitigate climate change is the first risk.
When asked what obligations Bosnia and Herzegovina has undertaken, he says that the development of BiH’s energy sector should be based on sustainable development policies.
“The development of Bosnia and Herzegovina’s energy sector should be based on sustainable development policies that include the following aspects: security of supply, price competitiveness, energy availability and decarbonization policy. With the reduction of greenhouse gases to increase the energy efficiency of the sector and the use of renewable energy resources, Bosnia and Herzegovina can achieve its obligations harmonized with the policies of the European Union,” explains Bičakčić.
This means the construction of new hydro, wind and solar power plants, with the parallel establishment of: an organized electricity market, trading of greenhouse gas emissions and a system of guaranteeing the origin of energy.
Bosnia and Herzegovina, he says, needs to decarbonize over 2,000 MW in thermal power plants, why is it necessary to build over 5,000 MW of renewable electricity sources (hydro, wind and solar).
In order to reach the set goal according to the National Energy and Climate Plan, it is necessary to build 250 MW, (380 GWh) annually of renewable electricity sources by 2030.
In addition, by 2030, 940 GWh of renewable sources should be built in transport, heating and cooling.
“In this way, CO2 emissions will be reduced by 41.21% by 2030 compared to 1990, which is a commitment. In addition to this, we have taken on the responsibility of desulfurizing thermal blocks and if we do not do this, we will be without thermal power plants in a few years. The construction of the flue gas desulphurization system has been completed at TE Ugljevik, while it has not even started at TE Tuzla, TE Kakanj and TE Gacko. Unfortunately, state companies have done almost nothing to build production capacity. they did not build. Bright examples are private companies that intensively make preparations and build renewable sources, and thanks to them, Bosnia and Herzegovina could meet the required goals, but with them there will be a market price,” he explained.
Referring to the stock exchange and tariff policy, he says that it should not be emphasized that Bosnia and Herzegovina is the only country in the region that does not have an electricity exchange, although it is the only one with surpluses.
“All these last 5-6 years, the net export from Bosnia and Herzegovina was at the level of 4 TWh. We are competing to develop stock exchanges in the region, without trying to form our own. As for the stock exchanges in the region until we form our own, “I think that HUPX (Hungarian Stock Exchange) is completely relevant and sufficient for us at this moment. There are even companies that have ceased to be recognizable large exporters, thanks to the unreasonable moves made so far,” he says.
The question, he says, is whether with the current organization of work, especially in the field of mining, they will ever become exporters again.
“Price relations must be fundamentally changed, so that there is interest in production and export. Tariff policy should have changed a long time ago. Tariff procedures for public supply should have been initiated a long time ago, because prices have not changed for eight years. Here, special attention should be paid to sensitive categories of the population, because until the state gets involved in these social protection processes, unfortunately, the power companies have to do it,” he explains.
This, he believes, means that those who can pay the market price of electricity should pay, while the current price should not be changed for the population that is in a state of social need.
“This could be implemented with a block tariff. As for the economy, I understand the Government’s desire to protect domestic production, but with on the other hand, I believe that the average price must be at least as much as the production price from thermal power plants, which would represent a correction of about 10%,” concluded Edhem Bičakčić for “Avaz“.
