Regulatory and Energy Assistance Project in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) – REAP BiH

(AEAI), aimed to facilitate activities related to opening the local and regional wholesale market. The project worked with the three regulatory commissions to develop an explanatory paper on the implementation of the World Bank Study on Wholesale Market Opening in South East Europe. The paper outlined key concepts, the current status of the country with regard to the elements of the proposed World Bank Wholesale Market Opening study, necessary steps to meet the requirements of such a wholesale market, and proposed a response to the Energy Community Regulatory Board (ECRB). The Market Working Group (MWG) and its subgroups, including the Regional Wholesale Market Subgroup and the Transition Period Subgroup, played a crucial role in the project's progress. The Regional Wholesale Market Subgroup developed an explanatory paper on the implementation of the World Bank Study, while the Transition Period Subgroup drafted a new regulatory approach to the current transitional period. The regulators analyzed the draft paper and chose two options for further development: the gradual deregulation of tariffs and the introduction of default supplier service. A case study was proposed to identify missing processes, contracts, and technical issues for successful market functioning. The regulators accepted the idea, and REAP will commence the activities on the implementation of the case study next quarter. Additionally, REAP analyzed the Third Liberalization Package and developed a memorandum that reviews the provisions in the package and addresses their effect on the structure of the energy sector of BiH. The project also focused on developing a proposed Communication Policy for the Ministry of Energy, Mining and Industry (MOFTER) to enable MOFTER to better perform its coordination function in the sector. The proposed communication procedure emphasized the importance of prompt communication, incorporation of comments, and timely circulation of final documents. MOFTER responded positively to the document, stating that the timing was excellent, as they were currently working on communication mechanisms for energy-related issues. The project's activities were focused on the following areas: fully integrating the energy sector into the regional market and the EU, facilitating activities related to opening the local and regional wholesale market, and developing a proposed Communication Policy for MOFTER. The project's progress was marked by the development of explanatory papers, draft documents, and memoranda that addressed key issues related to the energy sector in BiH.