On 19th June 2017, a meeting was held between the highest representatives of JP "Elektroprivreda HZ Herceg Bosne" d.d. Mostar, Independent System Operator NOSBiH Sarajevo, and Croatian Power Exchange CROPEX from Zagreb.
The purpose of the meeting was to determine the state of implementation of the conclusions of the regional Energy Conference held in Mostar on 8th June 2016, exchange current information and strengthen areas of mutual cooperation regarding the EPHZHB trading on the CROPEX and other EU power exchanges, and establishing a power exchange in BiH.
The special emphasis of the meeting was on the activities related to the establishment of the Power Exchange of Bosnia and Herzegovina respectively the project company "Power Exchange BiH" with headquarters in Mostar along with NOSBiH Sarajevo as its main actor and bearer of activities according to the relevant legislative and regulatory institutions and bodies of BiH.
JP "Elektroprivreda HZ Herceg Bosne" d.d. Mostar as well as the neighboring EU Power Exchange CROPEX from Zagreb give full support to the founding of the "Power Exchange BiH" project headquartered in Mostar, and will subsequently sign a special letter of interest between NOSBiH-EPHZHB-CROPEX with the scope and dynamics of assistance to meet needs of Independent System Operator of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The CROPEX Power Exchange, which has recently successfully launched the Intraday market, also participates in the MRC IBWT project of coupling the Croatian day-ahead market through the Croatian-Slovenian border to the EU-related market with the go-live of the project in Q2 of 2018.
CROPEX is a signatory of the Addendum Western Balkans 6 MoU with the readiness to help realize the Energy Community's goals in implementing the electricity market connection of neighboring non-EU states, in particular BiH, with Croatia as the neighboring EU market. It was also emphasized that establishing a cross-border coupling of neighboring day-ahead markets of Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina could become a project of EU CESEC importance. Through the realization of the project of cross-border market cooperation between Croatia and BiH, the strategic European goals of establishing organized markets in the countries of the South East Europe region and their connection with the EU market through neighboring EU power exchange markets, would be achieved.
Participants concluded that this year's Regional Energy Conference /REK 2017/ will be held in the second half of October 2017, with the anticipated participation of major electricity company representatives of BiH, Croatia and neighboring Southeast Europe countries, regulatory bodies from BiH as well as highest political representatives from BiH, Croatia, Energy Community and the EU, along with EPHZHB as the host of the conference and NOSBiH and CROPEX as partners/coorganizers of a conference.
At the end of the meeting, the General Directors of EPHZHB, NOS BiH and CROPEX signed a minutes defining guidelines for individual and joint activities in the future for the formation of power exchange trading within Bosnia and Herzegovina on the spot market (Day-Ahead and Intraday trading), with the aim that the electricity produced in Bosnia and Herzegovina is traded mostly within BiH, for which the biggest contribution would come from coupling the BiH power exchange with the neighboring EU power exchange, CROPEX.