Bosnia and Herzegovina’s state-controlled power utility Elektroprivreda Bosne i Hercegovine, or EPBiH, has invested approximately €92 million of its own funds in thermal power plants since the beginning of 2024. The outlay has increased maintenance expenditure as declining coal production and weak hydrology have added pressure to the company’s generation portfolio. The latest figure follows spending of around €72 million between 2015 and 2023.
Thermal investment compared with earlier spending
EPBiH has therefore committed more capital to its thermal fleet in roughly two and a half years than it did during the preceding nine-year programme. The spending is described as primarily defensive, aimed at preserving plant availability and system security rather than materially expanding coal-fired capacity. The company’s generation maintenance priorities have shifted alongside changes in fuel supply and hydrological conditions.
Management changes and revised financial results
EPBiH’s current management was appointed in August 2023. It inherited a financial position that was considerably weaker than initially reported. The company’s stated loss of €28.2 million was later revised to €169.5 million after an independent review.
The review also highlighted losses at EPBiH’s coal-mining subsidiaries, which had accumulated combined losses of approximately €540 million by the end of 2023. Coal operations remain the group’s most significant operational and financial weakness. Lower mine output has reduced fuel deliveries to EPBiH’s thermal plants.
Coal output, hydropower performance, and market purchases
The reduction in fuel deliveries has contributed to a decline in electricity generation that has been evident since 2018. Hydropower has not provided a reliable counterweight because periods of unfavourable hydrology have simultaneously reduced hydroelectric production. As a result, EPBiH has faced a supply gap.
The supply gap has led EPBiH to purchase electricity on the wholesale market, sometimes at prices substantially above regulated domestic tariffs. This has created a structural mismatch between production and procurement costs on one side and regulated revenue on the other.
2024 loss reduction and ongoing obligations
EPBiH reduced its net loss to €29.6 million in 2024, with the deficit absorbed by existing reserves. The approach preserved short-term liquidity, but drawing down reserves does not address the underlying economics of the generation portfolio. Thermal refurbishment can improve availability, heat rates and outage performance, while its financial value remains linked to dependable coal supply and a tariff framework capable of recovering production costs.
The company is also carrying unresolved obligations related to its mining subsidiaries, earlier compensation commitments, and unfinished investments such as HPP Vranduk. These liabilities compete for capital with plant maintenance and new renewable generation.
Purpose of the €92 million programme
The current €92 million programme is presented as a reliability intervention. It may reduce the probability of severe outages and expensive emergency imports, but the return on expenditure is constrained until mining performance, regulated pricing, and EPBiH’s longer-term generation strategy are addressed together.
