Konstantinov: There is no speculation of the IBEX with the prices
After the day-ahead market merger with Romania, it is also unlikely that there will be changes in electricity prices
There is no speculation on the electricity market. There may be fleeting attempts, but they do not lead to anything significant. This was explained to bTV by Konstantin Konstantinov, executive director of the Bulgarian Independent Energy Exchange, on the occasion of the high prices of electricity on the free market.
There was also a SANS inspection in the stock exchange. We provided all the required documents to the employees. I don't know how the inspection is going and whether it is over, Konstantinov added. He recalled that in case of suspicion of market speculation, signals are sent to the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission.
What doubts are usually in question - to offer or demand very large quantities of electricity, to conclude a contract with a preliminary agreement and trade in inside information, said Konstantinov.
The last time signals were submitted by the IBEX was about a month ago.
As for the connection first with the Greek energy market in the Day Ahead segment, and not with the Romanian one, Konstantinov answered that in principle our market is well connected with all neighbors. The market union does not change the trade exchange who knows how much and accordingly does not affect the prices, he commented and insisted that the prices have not changed for this reason after the union with the Greek market.
Konstantinov is convinced that there will be no change in the price of electricity for businesses after the unification with Romania. It is scheduled to take place on October 27 this year. According to the expert, Bulgaria has been in the lower part of the price range since the beginning of August. For September 29, the price is 147 euros per megawatt hour. As an argument that the price is not too high, Konstantinov pointed out the export - if it does not stop, then the price is competitive.
It is becoming more and more clear that the IBEX does not set prices, said the director of the stock exchange. He reminded that now the data on all contracts for electricity that passes through the stock exchange is coming out in minutes, expressing the opinion that someone does not like it - before 2016 there was no public data on contracts for huge amounts of electricity. Konstantinov reminded that in 2020, in addition to the crisis, there were also extremely low prices of BGN 50 per megawatt-hour.