“The Earth is Rotating” – these are the evergreens in our public life, which, like a skipping record, are periodically revived and become topical again from the front pages of “24 Hours” in the 30-year history of the media.
Broken head, blood on Eagle Bridge and the resignation of the first cabinet of Boyko Borissov on February 20, 2013. This was the result after 11 days of protests over high electricity bills between February 9 and 20.
From 11 February onwards, the escalation was difficult to contain. Eggs and stones on energy in Varna and Sofia, burning cars in Plovdiv. The peak was on February 14 with thousands of protesters across the country.
On February 20, after a man had his head smashed on Eagle Bridge the night before, Borissov resigned from his cabinet. “I can’t watch the bloody Eagle Bridge. Every drop of blood is a stain for us. I can’t watch a parliament surrounded by a fence. “We do not aim for power, nor do we benefit if we have to beware of the people.” he said. Observers saw this as a measured move 4 months before the elections, so that GERB would not take on all the negatives.
Those 11 days are
instructive and for
governments
after Borisov how
they can go
because of the baby
energy
This sword of Damocles hangs over the heads of each of them and provokes them to interfere, sometimes rudely and indiscreetly, in the work of the energy and water regulator and the market.
Going back 9 years, the reason for these massive February protests was a series of energy mistakes.
The last to spill the cup were electricity bills for 40 days, because on New Year’s the energy collectors rested. As a result, families had to pay exorbitant amounts of money. This experiment was not repeated, the invoicing was fixed at 30 days.
The electricity bills themselves were so detailed that people were stunned to wonder what these obligations to society were, what green and brown energy they were paying for, what the additional fees and supplements were. And to find out the final amount, they had to count with a pen and a calculator.
During the protests, the interim head of the EWRC corrected them. Energy, on the other hand, has undertaken rescheduling commitments.
But before these management blunders were the fundamental failures with the boom in the construction of photovoltaics and renewables in general with long-term contracts to buy their electricity at high prices. Some of BGN 400 and 700 per megawatt hour. The mass explosion of their construction in 2012 and 2013 alone, combined with the then high prices of US power plants in the Maritza East complex, which also had long-term purchase agreements, raised the price of the regulated market.
Subsequent parliaments and governments have restricted the procedures for building the branch to such an extent that the “greening” of Bulgaria has almost stopped. It is only in recent years that the construction of solar power plants has intensified due to high free market prices and the industry’s efforts to help itself with its energy sources. And only the photovoltaics on the roofs remained at preferential prices.
The authorities quickly and urgently “discovered” the solutions – created the Electricity System Security Fund, which pays the difference between market prices and those under long-term contracts of subsidized plants, gradually liberalizing the market, the last from the summer of 2020 to June 10, 2021 The smallest business, as well as the public structures, spent the year on it. These are municipalities, schools, kindergartens, nursing homes, hospitals, churches, urban electric transport, railways.
Now only household consumers are at regulated prices. At least something good has happened since the delay in liberalizing this market. I don’t think so
what would
happens if
families bought
electricity from traders
at prices of
the free market
What is the situation similar in the energy sector 9 years ago and now?
At the high prices of electricity on the free market and gas – for household consumers – including those who are on heating and natural gas.
However, no protests have taken place since
the state opened
wallet for
compensation,
although at times not quite adequately, but at times late.
Since last July, electricity and gas prices on the free market across Europe have reached unprecedented heights. The record was set on December 22 last year, when the stock market price reached BGN 824 per megawatt-hour, private trains stopped and factories closed.
One paradox was that at the beginning of the rise in price, the state-owned Maritza East 2 TPP did not sell blocks and did not trade on the stock exchange, which blew up the business. For months, everything it can produce has been at full capacity, hundreds of millions have been earned, but electricity has not returned to pre-July 2021 levels. even 2000 megawatts.
And in Europe it is becoming more expensive due to the shortage of gas and its high prices, as well as when there is a shortage of green energy. Then Germany put its leaks on coal and raised prices on the continent.
Later from European countries, but still before the business took to the streets, Radev’s office set compensations of BGN 110 per megawatt-hour for October and November. Due to the change of governments and thinking of compensation formulas, the payment for December was delayed by BGN 130, which amounts were delayed by BGN 1. These amounts for businesses and public structures were deducted from the January bills together with the January compensation of BGN 250.
Apparently, businesses, hospitals, schools and municipalities have calmed down as they have already received lower bills.
Inadequate at the start was the behavior of the new government of Kiril Petkov, as well as the parliament, which at the suggestion of GERB imposed a moratorium on electricity and heating prices and forcibly deprived the energy regulator of its powers. This happened on December 15 – the day when the increase in the price of electricity for households by 11% and the heating in Sofia – by nearly 30% was discussed. The moratorium provided peace. Temporarily.
And the increase in gas by 30% from January 1 took the head of the head of Bulgargaz Nikolay Pavlov. There is already a new head of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, which has been reduced to 5 members, and the government has a majority in it.
How they will tame the prices of the regulated market with the fall of the moratorium remains to be seen.
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