The Government of the Central Bosnia Canton in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) has decided to terminate ten concession
agreements for the construction and operation of small hydropower plants (SHPP).
The statement from the Cantonal Government said that seven of these SHPPs are located in the Fojnica municipality on the Bistrica and Zeljeznica rivers, while other three are located in Kiseljak (on the Lepenica river), Bugojno (on the Vileski Potok) and Novi Travnik (on the Kozica river) municipalities. The main reason for the termination of these contracts is financial.
In early 2021, FBiH Government adopted amendments to the regulations on hydropower plants and facilities, which stipulate that for all
hydro facilities with installed capacity of more than 150 kW it is necessary to perform an environmental impact assessment study. Also, as
of 1 January 2021, subsidies for electricity produced by SHPPs are no longer granted.
The ultimate plan is to ban the construction of all hydro capacities under 10 MW in order to prevent the possible damage to the rivers.
