In early April, Montenegrin Government decided to conduct further analysis in order to determine the right of Montenegro on the use of water from the Bilecko lake, which is used by Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia for electricity generation by hydropower plants on the Trebisnjica river.
It is estimated that Montenegro has an area of about 40 % of the Bileca lake basin, as well as 24 % of the total volume of the reservoir. The Government said that, for the past 48 years, Montenegro has been renouncing a part of its sovereignty by allowing BiH and Croatia to freely use water from the Bilecko lake.
It said that the matter of hydro potential of the Bilecko lake, namely the part which belongs to Montenegro, should be resolved at the intergovernmental level.
According to Montenegrin Energy Strategy until 2025, the construction of HPP Boka near Risan is envisaged, which will use water for the Bilecko lake.
Four HPPs use water from the Bilecko lake: three in BiH (Trebinje 1, Trebinje 2 and Capljina) and one in Croatia – HPP Dubrovnik.
However, Director of ERS, the company that operates three HPPs in BiH, Luka Petrovic said that, in his opinion, neither water nor the electricity generated by these HPPs should be shared with Montenegro.
