The liberalization of electricity prices for household consumers in Bulgaria is being postponed by 2 to 5 years – it has been agreed with the European Commission (EC).
He announced this in an interview for the show “Why, Mr. Minister“ on bTV, the Minister of Energy Zhecho Stankov.
From July 1, there will be a new way to determine the price of electricity for households, the Minister announced
“The final suppliers (“Elektorhold“, EVN, “Energopro“) will start buying energy from the Bulgarian Independent Energy Exchange, but there will be a decision by which the price for household consumers will be fixed. Until now, it was through the KEVR, now it will be through a report that I will receive from them and submit to the Council of Ministers. A fund (the "Electricity System Security Fund") will compensate for the differences between the market price and the price for household consumers, Stankov explained.
According to him, the fund has enough funds to compensate companies for higher prices on the stock exchange.
“We must use these funds very wisely within 5 years, make the necessary investments - in new nuclear power plants, new combined heat and power plants and renewable energy - to find the necessary mix at a low price”, commented the Minister of Energy.
In addition, he has agreed with the EC that our country will not lose any funds under the Recovery and Sustainability Plan due to the postponement of the liberalization of the electricity market for household consumers.
By the time the liberalization comes into effect, special software will be developed that can determine which consumers are energy poor. After this period, only they will be compensated for the price of electricity, Stankov explained.