Two new companies under the umbrella of the Ministry of Energy, dropping of already committed projects in the National recovery and sustainability plan (RPVU) and redirecting such in the proposed new chapter “RePowerIU“ (RePowerEU), providing for investments in critical electricity transmission infrastructure and energy efficiency of public and private buildings.
One of the main intentions is the removal of the Electricity System Operator (ESO) and "Bulgartransgaz" from "Bulgarian Energy Holding" (BEH) and their gathering in a new holding under the umbrella of the Ministry of Energy.
This is how the changes that Acting Minister of Energy Vladimir Malinov introduced today to the people's representatives at the extraordinary session of the National Assembly regarding the prepared changes in the National Energy Regulatory Commission can be described briefly, BTA specified.
Among the planned new investments, both in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) and in the new chapter being prepared in the NRRP "RePowerIU" (RePowerEU), Malinov singled out a planned investment for restoration of disturbed areas in the three coal regions of Stara Zagora, Kyustendil and Pernik of over BGN 500 million. The proposal, with which the European Commission is familiar, is based on the experience of Greece and its national plan.
"In this way, we will complement the decision of Deputy Prime Minister (Ludmila) Petkova to provide a resource within the state budget of BGN 1 billion over a period of 4 years," said Minister Malinov.
The concept proposed by the ministry to the EC envisages the redistribution of funds from the Just Transition Fund for reclamation activities and bringing the land into a state suitable for other economic activities. It is about the allocation of an additional 400 million BGN.
"Regarding this investment, we propose the creation of a specific legal entity directly subordinated to the Ministry of Energy, with its rights and obligations to be established by a special law following the example used in neighboring Greece. It will be the operator and will monitor the strict implementation and expenditure of the financial resource by the operators of the mining activity in the respective regions", explained the acting energy minister.
The Ministry of Energy (ME) proposes to the National Assembly a technical amendment to two investments in NPVU. It is about support for energy efficient street lighting systems. It is proposed, after reaching an agreement with the EC, to extend the period of implementation of the investment by another year, until the first quarter of 2026. The second investment for which there is a proposal for a technical amendment is the investment for new capacities for the production of electricity from renewable sources (RES) and electricity storage.
Other new moments, according to the MoE's predictions, include the transfer of a financial resource from the main part of the NPVU to the "RePowerIU" chapter. This concerns a pilot project for combining and producing thermal electricity from geothermal sources. The other transferred investment is the so-called “RES energy support for households“.
“We have transferred the unutilized financial resource in the NPVU of 50 million euros to the chapter "RiPowerIU", added Minister Malinov.
He also focused on the abandoned investments from the NPVU, according to the proposals of the Ministry of Education. In the first place is the investment for a green hydrogen pilot project, with an estimated financial resource of around 32 million euros.
"His withdrawal from the NPVU does not mean that we are abandoning this priority green hydrogen project of ours. We anticipate that it will be financed through the Modernization Fund, which we consider permissible," the minister pointed out.
The pilot wells for geothermal energy, which, according to the views of the ME, will be redirected to the Modernization Fund are also canceled. The inclusion of the two projects in this fund will also give a longer term for their implementation - until 2030, according to the ministry.
Minister Malinov also introduced the MPs to the process of renegotiation with the European Commission on two key reforms, which lie in the NPVU.
On "Decarbonization of the energy sector", in the context of the decision of January 12, 2023 of the National Assembly, the MEs have agreed to drop the threshold of 40 percent for the reduction of carbon emissions by 2025, compared to the base year 2019 .
"This will not be recorded in the NPVU,", he assured. "An agreement in principle was also reached with the EC that the market and market forces ensure effective implementation of the decarbonization goals provided for in the NAP. A key measure with the most substantial contribution to decarbonisation of the energy sector is the effective liberalization of the market. In this regard, an agreement in principle has been reached with the EC services on the elimination of stages related to the imposition of limit values for carbon dioxide emissions in the production of electrical energy from each individual installation. There will be no cap on carbon emissions for each individual installation. The general threshold is maintained, namely from January 1, 2026 in the amount of 10.9 million tons of carbon dioxide.
Among the progress achieved in the negotiations with the EC, Minister Malinov reported that there will be no coercive administrative measures or financial sanctions if the specified threshold is exceeded.
"I categorically believe that by 2024 we will have already reached this threshold and will be below it. The forecast is that we will be around 9.5 million tons of emissions," he predicted.
According to the second reform - "Improving the operational management of state-owned enterprises in the energy sector", providing for the separation of the Electricity System Operator (ESO) and "Bulgartransgaz" from "Bulgarian Energy Holding" (BEH), the Ministry of Energy is proposing the creation of a new holding under the Ministry of Energy, in which the two state operators would be separated. This measure is considered by the ME to be an acceptable option for the EC.
"We plan to introduce amendments to the Law on Privatization and Post-privatization Control, where the two operators will be included in the prohibition list and disposal actions with their shares and assets can be carried out only after an explicit debate and a decision of the National Assembly,'' he added. the official minister.
Among the proposed investments for 497 million euros per chapter "RiPowerIU" he emphasized investments related to the development of critical electricity transmission infrastructure or the project "Greenable" for 140 million euros, of investments to improve energy efficiency and the use of renewable energy sources in public and private buildings and a projected financial resource of 75 million euros, which is planned to be used also as a financial instrument allowing the absorption of funds under the plan and after August 2026 or through whom to supplement already existing instruments and investments such as the "Ristor" program (Restore), for example for batteries.
The government is committed to submitting the proposed amendments to the EC for an opinion by the end of September, announced in turn the acting Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Ludmila Petkova, who also participated in the hearing on the subject.