The liberalization of the electricity market and allowing consumers to choose their supplier would not reduce electricity prices. This is what energy experts in the country say. Even the chairman of the state regulator Eugenia Kharitonova said distribution companies were not operating at a loss because of the rules in Bulgaria but because of the joint EU regulations. Bulgaria has 110 registered suppliers that in a liberalized energy market would have to provide this service to end households.

But here your electricity money goes? Out of a 100-lev bill only 7.63 levs go to power supply companies. The remaining money is transferred to the other participants in the system. Spreading leaflets among consumers, "Energo-Pro" - one of the three distribution companies in the country, accused of expensive electricity, has been recently trying to explain to clients that the main part of the energy bill - about 57 lev is transferred to the National Electric Company, and over 10 levs are spent on green energy. That means the bulk of our electricity bills goes to the state monopoly NEC, buying cheap electricity from producers and selling it at a high price to consumers. Green energy also causes the price of electricity to rise.

To liberalize the energy market in the country uniform EU rules on unbundling of transmission networks to regulate the retail market for consumers and ensuring the independence of the state regulator must be introduced. Bulgaria has not yet adopted the so-called Third Energy Package and the EC would bring the country to court that could impose big fines. But energy experts agree that the liberalization of the electricity market does not mean lower prices for consumers. Yes, the choice of electricity suppliers will be larger, but this in turn may even lead to higher prices. This is because pressure on the whole chain will increase. Electricity traders will offer higher prices than today as free market will ensure that cheap energy goes exported outside, while more expensive electricity would be sold to Bulgarians. 

In order for market liberalization to become a reality it is necessary to separate NEC and the system operator. The Bulgarian Energy Holding as part of NEC is in great debt because of bad management and seeks a loan of 250 million euros. And those loans are included in the price of electricity. Government agencies say that the share of NPP "Kozloduy" in the energy mix of the country should be increased, as nuclear power produces the cheapest electricity. This can be done, but it will deprive the plant of profits needed for investments. People rely on increasing the export of power by reducing transfer charges. This will make the situation easier for electricity distributers. However, besides the cheap power from NPP "Kozloduy" other plants produce electricity in the country, which is not competitive on international markets. Moreover, the demand for this product in neighboring countries has been dramatically decreasing. The same goes for consumption in the country, which has shrunk two-fold. Some experts say that the expensive power produced in "Maritsa Iztok" 1 and "Maritsa Iztok" 2 power plants should be exported to Turkey, which would lead to a noticeable reduction in the price of electricity in the country. But as our southern neighbor is not part of the European energy system, negotiations have to be led at the bilateral level. Energy experts warn that excessive production of electricity in the country could lead to a system crash. The reason could be buying the entire quantity of electricity produced from renewable energy sources, which has been increasing. So in the summer when power consumption is lower, consumption could fall under 2700 MW. And that means stopping power stations and inability to effectively regulate the electricity network.

English version: Alexander Markov