Image above: Attendees of Georgia's Energy Day, organized in part by GOPA intec in June 2023 (Credit: Georgia Today)

Building policies and regulation pertaining to energy is a profoundly human and political challenge that is elemental to the success of all sustainable development efforts. Within the context of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) in particular, complex political and cultural dynamics make putting in place regulatory frameworks governing energy particularly challenging. Due to the current institutional framework not being conducive to the development of a sound regulatory environment, stakeholders involved in policy making need to strike a balance between serving diverse interests and fostering sustainable energy practices amidst a politically divided country.

Over the last 15 years, GOPA Group has been involved in nearly 30 sustainable energy initiatives in the Balkans and across the Black Sea in Georgia and Türkiye. These projects have ranged from infrastructure development (installing a 100-kilometer long 400 kV transmission line in Serbia, constructing two substations in Montenegro, and supervising the construction of a wind farm in Bosnia, for example) to planning and regulation design. The latter projects include developing a gas development plan and reviewing regulatory frameworks in Kosovo, drafting bylaws in Georgia to support of the introduction of the European Union (EU) Energy Acquis Communautaire, and drafting legislation in North Macedonia that harmonizes the country’s energy efficiency and renewable energy laws with the EU regulatory framework.

Leveraging this wealth of experience and expertise, GOPA stands uniquely equipped to drive substantive and enduring change within BiH’s challenging socio-political context. Fahrudin Kulic is a Senior Engineer at GOPA intec in Germany, and originally from Bosnia. “People in BiH aren’t aware of how fragile Bosnia’s position is as a net electricity exporter,” he explains. “Our power plants are old. If they fail, the country would be forced to import electricity.” The pressing need to transition to cleaner and more robust energy sources is paramount for BiH, where dependence on outdated infrastructure and coal poses significant risks to energy security, environmental sustainability, political stability, and public health.

“Our work in the region has been instrumental for the integration of the region’s Candidate and Potential Candidate Countries to the European Union,” says Marco Caponigro, Executive Director of GOPA intec. Intec has spearheaded a multimillion-dollar energy project in Georgia for over 5 years, rolling-out comprehensive sector-wide reforms of legal and regulatory frameworks. “The key to success,” he explains, “is proper communication, and building a sense of local ownership.” To achieve this, Caponigro has meticulously handpicked top experts in their respective fields. “It’s all about passion,” he says. “Our team’s passion for this work makes it easy for people to trust us.”

Their common post-1990s political pattern make all the Candidate Countries (Albania, BiH, Georgia, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Serbia, Türkiye, Ukraine and Kosovo) similar in the way their energy sectors have historically been run. BiH in particular has a very complex institutional structure as result of the Dayton Agreement of the 90s. “This creates the additional challenge when transitioning Bosnia’s energy sector to a more commercial entity,” says Kulic. “The people there are opposed to making this change because they do not fully trust the institutions involved and it would bring on increased costs to citizens as an investment in the country’s sustainable development.”

The success of EU integration efforts rests on effective communication, citizen engagement, and trust at all levels. At its core, transitioning to sustainable energy production and regulation is about behavior change. This is a continued challenge due to energy having been previously heavily subsidized in countries across the region. “People just want cheap electricity and are not supportive of paying higher prices to finance the necessary investments for an energy transition. They are concerned about the loss of jobs in coal mining and the industry supporting the operation of coal-fired power plants,” says Kulic.

In Georgia, GOPA intec’s work involves working closely with citizens to raise awareness on the importance of enabling large-scale investments in improving insulation of homes and buildings. There, Caponigro’s team harnesses the potential of schools as agents of change, and conducted trainings on energy efficiency and renewable energy to 150 students and 10 teachers across 10 schools. The schools were given three months to develop and execute innovative initiatives to reduce energy and water consumption, and students were then invited to present projects at Georgia's Sustainable Energy Day, a large-scale public event held in June of 2023. “Schools are where the spark is,” he says. Educating the youth on the importance of energy efficiency, renewable energy, and the country’s energy transition is an effective way to reach entire families. “Not to mention,” adds Caponigro, “that schools make up the majority of public buildings,” most of which will need to be renovated in line with the energy efficiency requirements established by the EU.

New ideas are needed that put the consumers at the core of solutions for transitioning to cleaner and more robust energy sources alongside increased energy efficiency in existing infrastructure. The sustainable future of the energy sector can therefore be more easily achieved through the decentralization of production, and by harnessing the power of prosumers. “These are the people who are both consumers and producers of electricity,” explains Kulic. “They’re the ones who, for example, have photovoltaic solar panels on the roofs of their homes, using some of that power and selling the rest back to the grid. The artificially low electricity prices are making these investments unattractive for households, while businesses that pay a higher price of electricity are already investing heavily in solar PV systems to reduce their operating costs.”

GOPA intec's extensive experience spanning close to ten countries in the region uniquely positions the company for transformative change within the complex political landscapes of the Balkans and the countries surrounding the Black Sea. Addressing the challenges of transitioning the energy sector requires collaborative efforts that prioritize consumer-centric approaches adapted to the unique political and socio-economic contexts of the region. GOPA believes in the importance of simultaneously focusing on approaches that are both top-down (new regulatory frameworks and robust large-scale renewable energy plants) and bottom-up (empowering prosumers through decentralized models and placing families and communities at the core of behavior change campaigns).