Russian Gas Flows to Bosnia down by a Third since Wednesday

Bosnia's gas flows from Russia were down by a third from requested volumes since Wednesday, distributor BH Gas said on Thursday, as the country faces rising demand because of falling temperatures and an overnight snow storm that caused power cuts.

BH Gas said that the reduction was because Russia needed to fill its own storage facilities and that the lower volumes caused no major disruptions in supply to customers.

Utilities in several Bosnian towns reported reduced heating capacity a day after a snowstorm hit the Balkan country and sent temperatures close to freezing. The snow and wind knocked out power lines, cutting power to about 5,000 households in the country's northwest.

Inflows of Russian gas have been down by up to 20 percent since the start of October, with Russia saying it was unable to meet rising demand from Europe while it built up stocks for winter.

BH Gas said it has a contract with Germany's E.ON Ruhrgas on an emergency gas supply. However, the debt-laden Bosnian company could struggle to secure enough fuel in the event of further cuts to Russian outflows.

Bosnia has no gas reserves and natural gas accounts for about 8 percent of its energy use. It relies on Russian supplies via Ukraine, Hungary and Serbia to meet its annual requirement of 200 million cubic metres of gas.

The chief gas distributor in neighbouring Serbia declined to comment on whether its gas deliveries from Russia have been cut. Serbia's energy sector has been under strain since major flooding in May.

(Reporting by Maja Zuvela; Editing by Michael Kahn and David Goodman)