Bulgaria is not paying under the "Bulgargaz" contract with "Botas".
This was told to the Bulgarian National Radio by the former Minister of Energy, Alexander Nikolov, and explained:
"During the election, many people are competing to say how much money we pay per day under this contract. These invoices are not even accounted for. 2024, a former minister confirmed that since then "Bulgargaz" has not been paying. Like any problem, it is swept under the carpet and left as a bomb to explode in the hands of the next and for another savior to appear to guarantee stability".
According to him, the contract with "Botaş" in its current structure cannot work:
"I do not rule out a scenario of it being renegotiated without holding mock meetings or mock statements, as has been done in the last few years. Turkey did a lot for us as a partner to help us balance the energy system, because in earlier periods and as a result of the war in Ukraine, Bulgaria was in a very difficult situation. ... ".
According to Nikolov, the question is whether "Bulgargaz" allows itself to sell natural gas at a loss in order to satisfy the current demands of the rulers to artificially maintain the price far below the levels they have ensured with their competence or incompetence:
"That is. the price at which it goes on the market should be below the cost of acquiring the resource".
The extremely low trust in institutions, not only in KEWR, is the reason for the lack of complaints about electricity bills, the former energy minister believes:
"For this reason, people prefer to ask questions on social media and use official media in order to create the necessary tension and control and take the relevant managers or regulators into their own hands".
According to him, the inspections that KEWR has commissioned in this part are logical and well-founded:
"I assume that they will show that distortion in the "price" part certainly not".
Bulgaria is currently one of the largest importers of electricity per capita in the EU, Nikolov emphasized.
The 7th and 8th units of the "Kozloduy" NPP are a real prospect for 10 years, he believes.
"The energy sector is deliberately keeping itself in the dark, because if it becomes clear, quite unpleasant things will come to light", commented the former Minister of Energy.