More than 4.8 million MWh were transferred on the IGB for the past year
Since December, the capacity of the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector has been almost completely filled, reaching over 94% just months after the start of commercial operation
Source: ICGB, archive
4.875 million megawatt-hours have been transferred through the Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnector for the period October 1 - December 31, 2022. In December, just months after the pipeline was put into commercial operation, IGB capacity reached over 94% reservation. By the end of 2022, there are 11 registered users of the interconnector.
The 182-kilometer gas pipeline connects the gas transmission networks of Greece and Bulgaria at the Komotini and Stara Zagora points and represents Bulgaria's direct connection to the Trans-Adriatic Gas Pipeline (TAP). The total capacity of the IGB is 3 billion cubic meters per year, with 1.57 billion cubic meters reserved under long-term contracts lasting up to 25 years. Free capacity is successfully auctioned for different periods on the European platforms PRISMA and RBP.
Since the beginning of the current heating season, the interconnector provides nearly 1/3 of the winter consumption of natural gas in Bulgaria. IGB is the first route for diversified supplies of natural gas to Bulgaria, guaranteeing increased security of supply and diversity of sources. The presence of the new infrastructure contributes significantly to the competition in the natural gas market, which is a prerequisite for optimal prices for businesses and domestic consumers in the country.
IGB creates a completely new route through Bulgaria for the transfer of natural gas from new sources to a number of countries, which reinforces the key role of the interconnector not only at the national level, but also for the entire region of Central and South-Eastern Europe.