SERC is a NATIONAL-CENTRAL commission

The regulatory framework of the energy sector follows the internal structure of Bosnia and Herzegovina as established by the Constitution. The state of Bosnia and Herzegovina comprises two entities: the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the Republika Srpska. Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina has a special status. The State Electricity Regulatory Commission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SERC), the Regulatory Commission for Electricity in Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FERK) and the Regulatory Commission for Energy of Republika Srpska (RERS) constitute this regulatory framework which was established by the adoption of national and entity laws in the field of electricity in 2002 and the appointment of regulatory commissions’ members in 2003. Each Regulatory Commission has its jurisdictions with SERC operating at the national level and FERK and RERS on the entity level.

The State Electricity Regulatory Commission (SERC) is an independent and non-profitable institution of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BIH), which acts in accordance with the principles of objectivity, transparency and equality, and has jurisdiction over the transmission of electricity, transmission system operation and international trade in electricity, as well as generation, distribution and supply of electricity customers in Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The SERC was established by the Parliament of BIH by adopting the Act on Transmission, Regulator and Electricity System Operator, and appointing the Commissioners (July 1, 2003).

The SERC’s jurisdiction includes:

• issuance, modification, suspension, revocation, and monitoring of and enforcing compliance with licenses within its jurisdiction;
• regulating, approving and monitoring tariffs and tariff methodologies for transmission services, ancillary services and operation of the Independent System Operator (ISO), as well as supplying electricity customers in Brčko District of Bosnia and Herzegovina;
• issuance of rules and regulations within its competency, including revision and approval of market rules and grid codes, and terms and conditions for connection and access to network;
• establishment, monitoring and enforcement of rules related to fair and non-discriminatory third party access to the transmission network;
• monitoring and enforcement of conditions related to inter­national trade in electricity, in particular ensuring that in­ter­national technical requirements are met and adhered to;
• establishing, monitoring and enforcing quality stand­ards for electricity transmission and ancillary services;
• coordinating and approving investment plans of the company for transmission of electricity, including the plans related to the transmission network and the quality of electricity transmission;
• monitoring of the efficiency of mechanisms and methods securing the system balance between demand and supply of electricity;
• consumer protection ensuring: fair and non-discriminatory treatment, high-quality services, competition and the prevention of anti-competitive activity;
• resolution of disputes among system users, in accordance with regulatory powers and applicable State laws;
• creation and maintenance of competitive markets when practicable, and prevention of any anti-competitive conduct;
• approving mechanisms for dealing with congestions of the electricity transmission system capacities;
• regulation of standards of service, codes of conduct and accounting requirements for licensees;
• issuance of annual reports and other public information a­bout the SERC.

FERK (in the Federation BiH) and RERS (in Republika Srpska) are ENTITY commissions.