Sarajevo: Heavy snowfall in Bosnia and Herzegovina has led to widespread power outages, affecting around 127,000 metering points across seven cantons, as reported by the national electric utility, Elektroprivreda BiH.
Tuzla Canton in the northeast appears to be the hardest hit, with over 65,000 customers left without electricity due to faults on 70 power lines. In central Bosnia, the Zenica-Doboj Canton has reported outages impacting 30,000 customers, while Una-Sana Canton in the northwest is facing disruptions for 19,000 customers. An additional nearly 7,000 customers in Central Bosnia Canton are also experiencing power issues. In Sarajevo Canton, four transformer stations are non-operational, and Herzegovina-Neretva Canton remains fully without power.
Efforts to restore electricity are ongoing, with all available personnel and resources mobilized by Elektroprivreda BiH. However, challenges such as continuous snowfall, strong winds, and fallen trees are complicating restoration efforts. The company is implementing alternative solutions where feasible and has urged customers to remain patient during this difficult time.
Meteorological forecasts indicate that significant snowfall will continue across much of the country until Thursday, marking an unprecedented event in recent years. Travel warnings have been issued across the Balkans due to snowdrifts that have closed major routes, including parts of highways in Croatia. Consequently, Bosnia, Serbia, and Croatia have restricted the movement of heavy vehicles and limited road traffic.
Rail travel in various parts of Bosnia has also been completely halted due to the snow. Bosnia’s state power company described conditions in some areas as “extremely hard,” attributing downed distribution lines to the weight of the heavy, moist snow and accessibility issues caused by drifting snow, as stated in their report.