prijava
SARAJEVO, December 9 (FENA) - The House of Peoples of the Parliament of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina approved the Draft Law on Amendments to the Law on Electricity in the FBiH, which should create legal preconditions for banning the issuance of energy permits for small hydropower plants on the entire territory of the Federation of BiH.
The draft was sent for public discussion and it was decided that the cantonal levels should give opinions on it.
This law was proposed by the FBiH Government for urgent decision-making, but the House of Representatives, at its session in April this year, procedurally returned it to the draft form, explaining that the matter requires public debate.
This slowed down the procedure in relation to the one proposed by the Government, and as a result, today the House of Peoples decided on the law in the form of a draft and finally approved it by a majority vote.
The proposed amendment to the current Law on Electricity added an article defining what “small hydropower plants (SHPs) are.” These are “hydropower facilities with an installed capacity of up to and including 10 MW”, which is not defined in the current Law and bylaws.
Article 78 of the Law is supplemented by a provision suspending the issuance of energy permits for small hydropower plants of the said power in the entire territory of the Federation of BiH, which prevents the issuance of building permits by any competent institution.
Another provision in Article 116 of the Law was added in order to enable all applicants for the issuance of energy permits, who have already concluded concession agreements with the competent authorities, to submit within three years time from the date of entry into force of the Law their energy permit applications, all for the purpose of avoiding litigation between investors and government agencies.
The deadline of three years was left due to the fact that the applicant is obliged to obtain certain documentation, which takes some time. It is about obtaining water management acts, environmental permits, previous electricity consent, urban consent, as well as evidence of resolved property and legal relations related to the property on which construction is planned.
After this item on the agenda, today's session of the House of Peoples was convened and it will be continued by December 20, announced Speaker Tomislav Martinović.
All these events were preceded by a meeting of parliamentary parties, non-governmental organizations dealing with river protection and other actors, where it was emphasized that the construction of mini-hydropower plants means big profits for individuals and small benefits for the state. They destroy natural water resources in the area where they are installed, which is why it is necessary to prohibit further construction.
(FENA) S. R.
