Bosnia grid row hampers investments, power supply

* Italy, Montenegro offer Bosnia to join grid deal-top offl

* Political row over Bosnia national grid may endanger deal

* Bosnia's power supply system also hampered by row

By Maja Zuvela

SARAJEVO, Nov 5 (Reuters) - A political row that has blocked operation of the Bosnian national grid Elektroprenos may also endanger a potentially lucrative power deal with Italy and Montenegro, a senior Bosnian official said on Thursday.

Josip Dolic, a board member of the Independent System Operator (NOS), said that Italy's power grid Terna (TRN.MI) had offered Elektroprenos a stake in its power project with Montenegro but so far the company has ignored the invitation.

Terna wants to build a 100-kilometre underwater power cable connecting power-starved Italy and Montenegro. It would have an initial capacity of 1,000 megawatts, which could potentially be linked with Bosnia by a 400 kilovolt tie-line, said Dolic.

"We have informed Bosnia's state power regulatory commission and the economic relations ministry about the issue but we are not in position to discuss the deal without a consent from Elektroprenos," he told Reuters in an interview.