Poor hydro hits profits at Bosnia’s two power utilities

Published on 5. September 2014., SEE Energy News

Bosnia’s top power utility EPBiH’s first-half profit fell nearly 60 percent to 9 million Bosnian marka ($6.08 million) due to flood-hit hydro power output that lifted costs.

The company said it produced 3,766 gigawatt-hours (GWh) of electricity, up 2.3 percent from the first six months of 2013 due to the better availability of its coal-fired power plants.

But hydro power output dropped by a third to 873 GWh due to devastating floods that hit the country in May. In the first half of last year steady rains fuelled a record hydro output of 1,265 GWh.

EPBiH, majority state-owned and the biggest of Bosnia’s three power utilities, said its revenues dropped 2.5 percent to 476.6 million marka while operating costs rose nearly 4 percent to 461 million marka.

The company operates two coal-fired plants and three hydro plants with combined capacities of 1,165 megawatts (MW) and 517 MW respectively.

The flooding also hurt the output of Bosnia’s smallest power utility EPHZHB, cutting its power production by 45 percent to 936 GWh from a year ago. EPHZHB operates seven hydro power plants with a combined capacity of 860 MW.

The utility said its profit declined 64 percent to nearly 26 million marka on the poor hyrdo conditions and higher costs due to power purchases.

Bosnia normally produces 40 percent of its electricity from hydropower and the rest from coal-fired plants, and is one of only a few countries in the region capable of exporting power.

Data published by the state statistics agency showed that power exports in the first half of 2014 fell to 168.6 million marka from nearly 292 million marka in the same period last year.

 

Source; Reuters