The Government: Our country's contract with "Botas" for access to the LNG terminals is not profitable for us

Prime Minister Nikolay Denkov stated that the contract with the Turkish state company "Botas", concluded by the caretaker government, is unequal at our expense. The document regulates the purchase and sale and delivery of natural gas. According to the prime minister, the official cabinet made management mistakes and violated a number of rules.

"The Turkish company Botas gets access to the Bulgarian and European markets without the opposite being true! In other words, we don't have access to the Turkish market. By assigning an official government a long-term contract for 13 years, it obliges the state with hundreds of millions of leva per year, billions of leva for these 13 years, even in the situation that Bulgaria does not import the stipulated quantities of gas. Of course, the Minister of Energy has undertaken to try to negotiate the best possible conditions for Bulgaria with full respect for the Turkish country, but he is placed in an extremely difficult and disadvantageous position," Denkov said during a press conference that lasted almost two hours.

The Minister of Energy Rumen Radev also expressed the opinion that a contract for a 13-year commitment with the Turkish company "Botas" should not have been signed, which was agreed in the last weeks of the caretaker government. He said this at a press conference in the Council of Ministers, where current topics are presented in the management program of the government.

The Energy Minister added that he traveled to Turkey with a team from the Ministry of Energy, as well as with the directors of Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz a week ago.

The minister specified that then the subjects of gas infrastructure connectivity and details of the contract with the Turkish company were discussed, with the aim being to "equalize the parties" to the maximum extent. He added that under the contract, the Turkish company has access not only to the Bulgarian gas network, but also in this way to the pan-European gas network. Bulgaria's access is limited only to the liquefied natural gas terminals in Turkey.

The minister explained that he will try to optimize the quantities that pass through, so that larger quantities can be unloaded that have to be paid anyway.

According to the energy minister, the issue of diversification when signing the contract with "Botas" is very controversial, because it was not considered that Bulgaria has a stake in the Greek terminal in Alexandroupolis. There is also a desire to increase capacity there, but even to further develop another terminal in Alexandroupolis.

About coal plants and the green transition

No coal-fired thermal power plant is favored over another. This was said by the Minister of Energy, Rumen Radev, at a press conference in the Council of Ministers on current topics, which are included in the management program of the government. He recalled the basic philosophy of the idea of a just transition - to seek meaningful transformation through the means of financing.

"Within a transition, everyone starts from the same position - with some employment as human resources, with some connectivity as potential, and the desire to do something," said Radev.

According to him, the main and biggest problem is the lack of a clear idea of how to reach the 2050-2060 goals, which are unequivocally acceptable to everyone, as well as how to achieve the transition.

The Minister of Energy added that during a meeting with people in Stara Zagora, he saw that there are accumulated problems there. He believes that an extremely vicious and false message has been poisoned to the people.

On the issue of territorial plans, it took a long time to start the dialogue, although many conversations have been held over the years, Minister Radev added. Therefore, it took a long time to start a productive dialogue. He pointed out that the three regions - Starozagorski, Pernishki, Kyustendilski - have different problems. The expert part is important, but it is important that those working there actually know what they will be working on.

The energy minister pointed out that a lot of work has gone into the territorial plans with various ministries and meaningful drafts have already been completed. However, they should be discussed with the people on the ground.

In the integrated plan in the district, the long-term goals in energy are set. There should be no loss of funds under the territorial plans. "This is design. Projects are something that follows," the energy minister added.

The commitment is to liberalize the electricity market and for the domestic consumer at the end of 2025, but this cannot be done without clear mechanisms for energy poverty, as well as those to support people, answered the energy minister. In order to have sufficient preparedness, a draft regulation was submitted in the autumn, according to which the compensation will be made. Radev pointed out that there will be no serious increase in household electricity. However, according to him, energy efficiency should be encouraged.