A brief overview of the relevant institutions in the electricity sector of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) and links to their official websites can be found below:

• Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations of Bosnia and Herzegovina – MOFTER – responsible for energy policy and planning at the BiH level and for coordinating entity plans and activities.
• State Electricity Regulatory Commission – SERC – the institution in Bosnia and Herzegovina responsible for overseeing electricity transmission, transmission system operations, and international electricity trading, as well as for production, distribution, and customer supply in the Brčko District of BiH.
• Electric Power Transmission Company of Bosnia and Herzegovina – Elektroprijenos BiH – engages in electricity transmission and the maintenance, construction, and expansion of the electricity transmission network in BiH. DERK regulates transmission activities, including setting transmission tariffs through a tariff procedure.
• Independent System Operator in Bosnia and Herzegovina – NOS BiH – manages the electricity transmission system in BiH by overseeing the operation of high-voltage transmission equipment, managing the balancing market, and establishing planning and development documents to ensure continuous electricity supply at defined quality standards. DERK regulates the operations and tariffs of NOS BiH.

A brief overview of the relevant institutions in the electricity sector of the Federation of BiH (FBIH) and links to their official websites can be found below:

• Federal Ministry of Energy, Mining, and Industry – FMERI – responsible for energy policy issues in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and for enacting relevant laws and regulations in this entity.
• Regulatory Commission for Energy in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina – FERK – is responsible for regulating relations between electricity production, distribution, supply, and customers, oversees the electricity market, and issues relevant bylaws, methodologies, and decisions.
• RES Operator  – established with the aim of creating an institutional structure for the operationalization of the system for encouraging the production and purchase of electricity from plants using renewable energy sources and efficient cogeneration.

In addition to JP “Elektroprivreda HZ HB” d.d. Mostar, the following public enterprises are engaged in electricity activities in Bosnia and Herzegovina:

• JP Elektroprivreda BiH d.d. Sarajevo – EPBiH – a public electricity company engaged in the production, distribution, supply, and trading of electricity in BiH, together with several subsidiary companies in the field of mining and equipment manufacture, makes up the EPBIH Concern, in which it has the status of a controlling company
• MH Elektroprivreda Republike Srpske, a.d. Trebinje – MHERS – a public electricity company involved in the production, distribution, supply, and trading of electricity in BiH.
• JP “Komunalno Brčko” d.o.o. – performs activities of electricity distribution, supply and trade, as well as other utility activities in Brčko District BIH.

In every modern home, appliances that use electricity are essential. Some of these, such as refrigerators, run 24 hours a day throughout the year and consume very large amounts of electricity, thus impacting the total electricity bill.

Below are some useful tips for using your household appliances more efficiently and saving on your electricity bills:

• When purchasing appliances, aim to buy the most energy-efficient models that consume less electricity over their lifetime. You can check the efficiency of your electrical appliances using an app that compares products, calculates costs, and helps you make a choice.
• When choosing lighting, opt for LED bulbs, which reduce electricity consumption by up to 90% compared to traditional options. Utilize natural daylight as much as possible and turn off lights in rooms that are not in use.
• Try to avoid “stand-by” mode when possible—e.g., by turning off the TV, air conditioning, water heater, etc., during longer absences from home, as this mode can consume up to 6% of the total electricity used.
• Washing dishes in a dishwasher uses significantly less electricity (up to 50%) and water (up to 80%) compared to hand washing. It’s advisable to wait until the dishwasher is full and ensure the salt level is adequate to prevent scale buildup on heaters and maintain its efficiency.
• Washing machines consume most energy for heating water, so when possible, wash clothes at 30 or 40°C with maximum spin to save on drying costs. It’s also smart to choose a larger capacity washer to reduce the frequency of use and achieve savings.
• When installing a refrigerator, ensure there is a 10 cm gap from the wall and avoid placing it near heat sources or sunlight. Each degree increase in the refrigerator temperature results in a 5% savings in electricity consumption. Regularly clean the refrigerator, as, for example, a 3 mm layer of ice in the freezer increases electricity consumption by about 30%.
• Dirty ovens use more electricity, and ovens with a fan (convection) are more efficient and can save up to 15% of electricity compared to conventional ovens. Try to keep the oven door open for as little time as possible while baking, as each opening loses 20% of the heat.

The liberalization of the electricity market in the areas of electricity production, trading, and supply has enabled private investments in the energy sector and allowed participation in this inherently “closed” sector for anyone willing to invest. Since the official opening of the market, investors have primarily focused on participating in the segment of electricity production from renewable sources, primarily from photovoltaic (solar) power plants, but also from wind farms.

To provide quality information to investors, a digital guide has been created as part of the USAID Energy Sector Assistance Project (USAID EPA). This guide offers an overview and explanations of the necessary permits and the relevant authorities that issue them. You can access the Investor Guide for the electricity sector in BiH by following this link:

Investor Guide (USAID EPA)

The complexity of energy and the energy sector and the need for their understanding by the public at large were the guiding ideas for creating this Glossary, which will serve everyone as a kind of a guide to key concepts and relevant institutions.

The glossary provides clarifications of key, universally used terms from the energy sector without the intention of merely presenting fixed definitions in a scientific or legal sense. A part of the document deals specifically with Bosnia and Herzegovina, primarily providing clarification of the structure, functioning and the role of institutions and organizations in the energy sector, but it also provides an overview of the legal framework in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

ENERGY FOR ALL – Glossary (USAID EPA)