The Parliament adopted in the first reading the amendments to the Energy Act that they foresee full liberalization of the wholesale electricity market until the end of 2023 keeping residential consumers in a regulated market until 2026 city B support 98 people’s representatives voted for the amendments GERB-SDS„We continue the change – Democratic Bulgaria” and DPSand 49 were “against”.
Against the bill were from “Vazrazhdane”, “BSP for Bulgaria” and “There is such a people”who expressed concerns about rising household electricity bills.
Household customers will be protected in the liberalization of the electricity market
“Categorically residential customers are protectedand final suppliers and traders will supply them with electricity at regulated prices with guaranteed compensations,” said the Minister of Energy Rumen Radev at the beginning of the debate. He pointed out that the other significant amendment in the proposed bill is related to the introduction of a national definition of vulnerable electricity supply customers.
The amendments terminate the role of the public supplier NEK and remove producer quotas for the regulated market. The bill envisages that final energy suppliers, such as universal service providers, to be obliged to supply household customers and the latter not to be obliged to change their supplier. During the transition period final suppliers will supply household final customers at regulated prices.
The possibility of compensating residential customers for the costs of purchasing electricity is foreseen within the regulatory process for the period up to 2026.
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Temenuzka Petkova from GERB-SDS said that the draft law is demanding liberalization of the wholesale energy market. “No one is asking us to bring home consumers to the free market,” she said. However, Petkova noted that the draft law has quite a few provisions related to household consumers who require it serious rework“The Bulgarian consumer must remain in a regulated market and we must liberalize the wholesale market,” she was categorical.
Dragomir Stoynev from “BSP for Bulgaria” commented that the main goal of this bill it is not to have peace of mind for households and businesses, and to use the funds from the Recovery and Sustainability Plan. “That is, for 850 million euros, we are ready to destroy the last remaining sector in the Bulgarian economy, namely energy,” he pointed out. “Until now, if the mix was determined by KEVR, now I don’t see who will convince the electricity distribution companies themselves to make it so that there is a low price of the mix, i.e. if now it is 150 BGN, nothing prevents it from being 250 BGN, 350 BGN”, he added. In this regard, Stoynev expressed Speculation concerns and cartel agreements.
Radoslav Ribarski from PP-DB indicated that non-domestic consumers have been in the free market for many years now, there are no cartel agreements and KEVR is precisely for this, to regulate these relationships in the market. “What is happening right now, some state-owned companies to be deprived of market revenues in order to keep the regulated cost of living at low levels is detrimental to the Bulgarian economy”, he believes.
The ombudsman wants the state to explain how the full liberalization of the electricity market will be implemented
Yordan Todorov of “Vazrazhdane” replicated it that this regulated price remains until December 31, 2025, then from January 1, 2026. Bulgarian households will bear the full burden of the free market. According to him, their electricity bill will jump between 200 and 300 percent, and in the winter months they can jump more than 10 times compared to the bills they are currently paying.
Pavela Mitova from “There is such a people” commented that once again Bulgarian politicians are trying to make themselves “bigger Catholics than the Pope” before its European partners. She pointed out that in the directive no specific date for liberalization has been given in the consumer market. “The changes are to the detriment of the final household users, who will depend on the large ERPs, as the price of electricity will also depend on them,” commented Mitova.
2023-09-18 18:09:00
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