/View.info/ The energy regulator dashed hopes for cheaper heating. They weren’t really hopes, but logical expectations. Bulgargaz recently announced that it wants to lower the price of natural gas for the next quarter by 13.3%. According to market principles, this should also affect the final prices of thermal energy, because a large part of heating systems work with natural gas. At least until now, when there has been a change in the price of blue fuel more than 5%, it also affects the prices of heating in the same direction. But with us, the market logic is the other way around.
The head of the regulator is categorical that there will be no reduction in electricity and heat prices for end users. The savings from the reduced prices would go to the heating companies to be compensated for the debts they have. We will pay the bill again. But that’s no surprise either. So far, the policy of the cabinet and the new composition of the State Environmental Protection Agency follows an irrevocable trend of protecting the interests of monopolies, lack of reforms and zero protection of citizens.
Despite requests that the energy sector is one of the sectors with the most debts and the most urgent reforms, none have been done so far. Or at least not in the direction of balancing. The only thing that is done is that it is taken from the weakest and most vulnerable in the chain – the end user – to give to monopolies – ERPs, district heating, etc. Regarding one of the balancers of the sector – RES, nothing was done to regulate the market. Nothing was done about the other main imbalancer – the American plants. Allegedly, negotiations are underway, but under conditions dictated by the power plants themselves, setting insane demands – if they do reduce the prices at which they sell, the difference should be returned to them after 5 years. The head of the DKEVR said that even if they reduce their prices, which are pointed to as a reason for NEK’s debts and the increase in the price of electricity, this will not lower the price of electricity for the end user.
Thus, in practice, the debts of NEK, accumulated mainly due to the times more expensive electricity sold by RES and the American power plants, as well as due to uncollected millions from the violations of the ERPs, are paid by the consumer with a higher electricity price. Now he will also pay for the heating debts. Apparently, the consumer’s pocket is the panacea – a substitute for the missing reforms. He alone will not feel anything from any reductions. However, if someone at the exit of the energy chain raises their prices, for the consumer they will jump immediately, and at least double. Market “logic”. Let’s not forget that it was she, namely, the extremely unclear formulation of prices in the energy industry, that “took the head” of the previous Borisov cabinet. Exactly on February 20.
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