Bulgarian Minister of Energy: We can Stop the Export of Electricity if we Leave the EU
“We can talk about stopping the export of electricity from Bulgaria only if we agree not to be in the European community and not to have all the benefits we have from the European market.”
This was stated today on Nova TV by the Minister of Energy Alexander Nikolov in response to the growing voices calling on Bulgaria to immediately stop the export of electricity in order to lower prices inside the country. The most famous apologist of this thesis is Kostadin Kostadinov from the “Vazrazhdane” (Revival) party.
“If we stop the export of electricity - the price will fall. But this will lead to serious consequences for Bulgaria. The fine is one thing. The fact that we are currently able to balance our energy production is good, if we do it we will benefit but only in the short term. In the long run, Romania and Greece are key partners and it is good to have good relations. If we do this now, they will suffer a lot. And we can expect exactly the same reaction from them when we need them,” Nikolov continued.
It is because of European rules that it is not possible for municipalities, schools, hospitals and monasteries to enter the so-called regulated market - where the price is determined by the EWRC and not by the market and where a moratorium is currently in force. Nikolov explained that the government offers compensation for such consumers and that if necessary - there would be more.
“In the long run, which had to be done far back in time, we will do it in the next few months - it is all administratively directly or indirectly related budget social organizations to move to a common pool to have a predictable price.”
Electricity Regime in the Municipality of Hissarya from Tomorrow
We are not trying to control the energy sector
“Nobody is trying to control the energy sector - we have not changed a single director of a system company in the last six weeks.”
This is the defensive line along which Alexander Nikolov responded to the opposition, which claims that the new government is trying to replace all key positions with its own people. And there are reasons for such doubts - only a few days ago the EWRC law was changed so that a specific person would fit for the director's position, or so it seems at first reading.
The Entire Management of Bulgargaz has been Replaced
Late Friday evening, the entire management of Bulgargaz was released and replaced with a new one (the decision has not yet been published in the Commercial Register).
Today Nikolov announced that the reasons for these latest shifts are hidden in a series of data obtained after inspections of the Bulgarian Energy Holding. However, he declined to give details but stressed that the old leadership was defending the interests of certain companies.
According to data released today by the Minister of Energy, Bulgaria has gas reserves for about a month in the storage facility in Chiren. In addition, negotiations were underway with Azerbaijan for emergency supplies to cover at least part of the consumption.
/ClubZ