BEMF warns: Bulgaria is facing a serious energy crisis

Bulgaria's electricity system is entering a deepening production and liquidity crisis. This is stated in a Declaration to the political parties from the National Assembly of Bulgaria by the Bulgarian Energy and Mining Forum (BEMF).

During the periods of recharging of the reactors at the Kozloduy NPP, the country suddenly becomes a net importer of electricity (over 1,200 MW on average for November), and this is most pronounced in the hours of the evening peak of consumption - from 5 to 9 p.m. when the photovoltaics reset their production. Their "emptying" is mainly compensated by importing expensive electricity mainly from Greece, which activates the full capacity of its gas-fired thermal power plants (mainly reconstructed coal plants with RSP funds).

For 4-5 hours, these power plants suddenly raise the load from below 1000 to over 4000 MW and thus balance the Bulgarian energy system. Bulgaria also imports electricity from coal-fired thermal power plants from Serbia, Turkey and even from North Macedonia, the price of which is not burdened with the "environmental" supplement for carbon quotas, BEMF states.

At the current stock market prices of natural gas and carbon quotas, our lignite thermal power plants cannot compete with Greek and Romanian gas thermal power plants. The process of deterioration of the economic condition of our coal plants is further aggravated by the practice of the state confiscating part of their profits when sales exceed certain levels, called "price ceilings", according to experts.

The data from the beginning of November consistently show that the Bulgarian coal plants, despite the deteriorating economic situation, and this fall of 2024. retain their role as a critical producer of electricity in the country (over 40% on average for November) and despite the registered growth of the capacities of renewable sources in Bulgaria, their contribution to the country's energy balance is insignificant - with a contribution of less than 10% to the energy balance on average for November 2024 so far, BEMF also commented.

According to the experts from the energy and mining forum, the reasons for the current state of the Bulgarian electricity industry are many incompetent actions and inactions.

The Declaration, the full text of which can be found in the attached document, proposes a series of urgent medium-term measures to stabilize the Bulgarian energy sector.