The country with the first attempts to regulate the concept of "energy communities"

The state is starting to think about the creation of energy communities in Bulgaria. This is clear from today's decision of the Council of Ministers. It is related to amendments and approvals of a draft law to supplement the Law on Energy from Renewable Sources (LERS). The amendments were developed in order to transpose the requirements of EU Directive 2018/2001 to promote the use of energy from renewable sources. Currently, our country has not yet created the regulatory framework and concepts such as "prosumer" and "energy poverty" have not been specified. The lack of a regular government and parliament is also to blame for this legal loophole.

The bill provides for a new power for the Minister of Energy to approve the plans of heat transfer companies to develop district heating or cooling systems, in the event that such plans are developed, the Government Information Service reported. The changes can be adopted, however, only after the formation of a new National Assembly after April 2.

The changes in LERS also regulate the requirements regarding the determination of a national target for the share of energy from renewable sources in gross final consumption, the mandatory minimum target for the share of energy from renewable sources in final consumption in transport, as well as the targets for the share of energy from renewable sources in the electricity, heat and cooling sectors.

With a view to creating a favorable framework for promoting and facilitating the development of users of own electric energy from RE and renewable energy communities, requirements are introduced regarding persons who can produce, consume, store and sell excess amounts of energy from renewable sources.

It is planned to ease the joining procedures for producers of electrical energy from renewable sources with a total installed capacity of up to 1 MW, and the terms for carrying out a study and issuing an opinion on the conditions and method of joining have been reduced.

The draft law also ensures the implementation of two key reforms from the National Recovery and Sustainability Plan of the Republic of Bulgaria (NRP), component "Low Carbon Economy" - Reform 4 "Mechanism for financing projects for energy efficiency and renewable sources together with energy bills" and for the partial achievement of the goals of Reform 6 "Stimulation of electricity production from RES".

The decisions were taken in absentia, the government specifies.