The House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) adopted the proposed amendments to the Law on electricity, which bans the construction of small hydro power plants (SHPP) on the territory of the Federation.
Namely, the issuance of new concessions for SHPPs will be forbidden. The term “small hydropower plant” is defined as a hydropower plant with a capacity of up to (and including) 10 MW. The ban does not apply to small hydropower plants on gravity pipelines. The newly proposed law also enables applicants for the issuance of energy permits, who have already concluded concession agreements with the competent authority, to complete the applications within three years.
Earlier this year, the House of Representatives and the Federal Government adopted the same amendments. Last April, the Federal Government adopted a proposal for a law amendment that would enforce the ban on SHPP construction, but the Parliament failed to pass it.