In the Bulgarian energy sector, tensions have risen again. Not only that the Bulgarian Energy Holding, which stands on top of all state-owned companies for the production and distribution of gas, coal and electricity, has started wondering where to take money from in order to pay its huge debts of over 1.5 billion euros, but it is now threatened by gigantic EC fines exceeding 300 million.

There is also absolutely no clarity surrounding the fate of the already constructed site and supplied nuclear units for a second nuclear power plant in this country.

The situation in the Bulgarian energy sector seems so complicated and tangled that the Bulgarian parliament held a closed session to examine the overwhelming danger of European fines. The situation stems from a complaint of one of the Bulgarian private gas companies, filed 10 years ago, that it has not been admitted to the gas distribution pipes of state-owned Bulgartransgaz, thus suffering damages. The Commission considers that the case is an abuse of a dominant position to the detriment of free competition. The case was almost forgotten in Bulgaria, especially when all players now have equal rights on the gas market. But in Brussels they do not think so, and they are obviously determined to give a good market economy lesson to Bulgaria, even more so at the backdrop of Sofia’s plans for a gas hub on the Black Sea coast. We mention this hub because it is closely related to the failed South Stream gas pipeline project from Russia through Bulgaria and towards Western Europe, which was decisively stopped by Brussels with the same motives – not letting other suppliers use the gas network. At its closed session, the parliament called on Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova to defend Bulgarian interests, whatever that means. Probably her task is the lowest possible fine or no penalties at all. All the variants are on the table, the minister said without going into detail. Experts, however, believe that Bulgaria will still have to pay fines. This does not make anyone happy, especially the government, who are not hiding their pride in good results achieved by the national economy this year, when the GDP growth is expected to exceed 4% and pass the psychological threshold of 50 billion euros, which is almost twice as high in comparison to the level of GDP in this country when it joined the EU in 2007.

Problems and tension continue to emerge from the developments related to the issue with the second Bulgarian nuclear power plant in Belene, which hasn’t found a satisfactory and reasonable solution for 30 years. Independent economy and energy experts and financiers from the prestigious Bulgarian Academy of Sciences also contributed to fierce discussions. About two weeks ago they published a report of some 1,000 pages, which was expected to give an answer to questions about the need and efficiency of such a plant. Scientists and experts predicted that by 2030, in Bulgaria and in the neighboring countries there will be a shortage of electricity and under certain conditions this power plant would make sense. The Ministry of Energy says that independent experts have given a green light to the plant, but remained silent on the financial aspects of this extremely expensive project costing more than 10 billion euros. Three successive cabinets of Prime Minister Boyko Borissov refused to finance this project with public funds. At the same time the plant site has been certified and almost completed, the two Russian units are unpacked and no one knows what to do next. Even Chinese investors were invited to solve the problem, but no light is yet seen in the tunnel.

So, on the eve of Christmas and New Year holidays tension in Bulgarian energy sphere has been growing because of the lack of solutions to complicated issues. This is an unstable situation that prevents reasonable and correct decisions taken in the economy, as it does not allow for a real assessment of the situation and adequate responses to events and processes. From this point of view, everything that is currently happening in Bulgarian energy has a discouraging effect and threatens the entire economic system and its macroeconomic stability. And that could jeopardize not only economic growth and financial stability of the country, but could also affect the wallets of Bulgarian citizens.

English: Alexander Markov