DODIK: ENERGY SECTOR SHOULD BE SRPSKA’S OWNERSHIP

BANJA LUKA, OCTOBER 19 /SRNA/ – The energy sector should be owned by Republika Srpska, and the possibility of buying out shares held by minority shareholders will be considered, President Milorad Dodik has said today.

"Republika Srpska will not sell its ownership stakes in energy companies. These companies will serve the public interest and the interests of our people," Dodik said at a joint press conference held in Banja Luka by the Republika Srpska leadership.

He added that electricity prices in Republika Srpska remained below commercial rates, despite the resulting financial losses.

Dodik noted that there were internal and subjective problems, but were significantly less serious than the objective ones regarding Republika Srpska’s energy system.

"The closure of thermal power plants should not be an option for more than the next ten years," Dodik stressed.

He emphasized that transferring ore extraction operations to private entities had been a major mistake. He added that talks with partners would be held over the next month or two, with the aim of procuring all the necessary mining equipment for the Ugljevik Mine and Thermal Power Plant through interstate agreements.

"By then, we will have resolved the property - legal issues and completed certain levelling works in March. We are aware of the scale of our consumption, but also of our responsibility. The population of Republika Srpska can rest assured that there will be no price increases," Dodik said.

He added that global oil and petroleum product prices were also expected to decline.

"We are hostages of the EU, which has banned imports of Russian oil. If we had the opportunity to transport it through any route, we could procure cheap oil for our local market. Its price would now be below BAM 2 per litre in Republika Srpska. The additional cost we are paying is a consequence of EU measures that have surrounded and blocked us, preventing us from obtaining oil on more favourable terms," Dodik stressed.

He concluded that the EU’s economic measures were anti-Serb in nature, arguing that they were forcing Republika Srpska to bear consequences that no one was willing to mitigate.