Bulgarian Energy Holding Will Seek Change of Commitments for Trade on Energy Exchange The Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) will approach the European Commission about a possible change in the commitments of state-run electricity companies to sell certain volumes of electricity on the day-ahead market of the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange. Participants in a meeting Wednesday, hosted by Energy Minister Temenouzhka Petkova, rallied around the idea. To avoid the payment of hefty fines because of BEH's restrictions on competition, the Kozloduy NPP, the Maritza East 2 thermal power plant and the National Electric Company (NEC) undertook to sell certain volumes of electricity on the energy exchanges According to data of participants in the market, the shortage of peak electricity is among the reasons for the hike of electricity prices on the free market while at the same time NEC reports that between 50 and 300 MW of the volumes it offers remain unsold. One of the ways to remedy the situation is to ask the European Commission that the volumes offered by the state energy companies be traded through long-term contracts. The request has been prompted by the latest amendments to the Energy Act under which the whole electricity output outside the regulated market will be sold through the energy exchange. Wednesday's meeting brought together representatives of state-run energy companies, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, electricity traders, employer organizations and trade unions who discussed the fears of the business about a possible increase of the price of electricity on the free market and looked for mutually acceptable decisions.
Source: Monitor (02.01.2018)

Business predicts household electricity prices up to 30% Expensive industrial electricity will certainly also affect the cost of household electricity, which may increase between 15 and 30%. This was predicted by the four nationally represented employers' organizations - BIA, AICB, CEIBG and BCCI. They presented their priorities for 2018 yesterday. Some of them are related to their requests for electronic document exchange, fight against corruption, the gray economy, the labor market, etc. The latest appreciation of household electricity was last summer, when prices increased by about 2-3%. According to employers, however, this year there will be a significant increase, and the explanation is the speculative rise in electricity prices for companies on the free market. That is why the business together with the two biggest trade unions - CITUB and Podkrepa KT, is preparing a protest at the end of the month. "On their own platforms, Kozloduy NPP and Maritsa East 2 TPP sell the electricity much cheaper than at the energy exchange, thus manipulating the market - where does the difference between the low price of their own platforms and the high price at the exchange go?” The Executive Chairman of BIA Bojidar Danev even described the situation in the energy sector as "economic schizophrenia". He explained that the sector has overcapacity to produce, and explained the situation with bad and malicious management.
Source: Sega (23.01.2018)

Employers submit a request to the CPC for initiation of proceedings on electricity prices Employers' organizations are ready to file a request to the anti-monopoly Commission to establish electricity price violations. The request of the Association of the Organizations of Bulgarian Employers (AOBE) to the CPC is against the state-owned power producers. The request states that the main suppliers of electricity on the free market are Kozloduy NPP and Maritsa East 2 TPP, which provide about 54% of the annual electricity production in Bulgaria and decisively dominate the production of electricity on the free market with a share of about 92%. In the first nine months of 2017 the two plants realized more than 70% (or 9.94 TWh) of their electricity produced through their online electronic platforms and sold 4.16 TWh on the Bulgarian Independent Energy Exchange EAD (BIEX). In the same period, the average price achieved on their own platforms is 64.10 BGN/MWh, while their average price through BIEX is 78.48 BGN/MWh.
Source: BIA (25.01.2018)

RESs are also listed on the free market from July 1 Besides the cogenerations, for which was proposed all the quantities of generated electricity to be traded on the free market from July 1, this will also be done for the RES (renewable energy sources), said the chairman of the Energy Committee in the Parliament Delyan Dobrev. The producers with installed capacity over 5 megawatts sell the electricity to NEK at a preferential price, which has the obligation to buy it. From the next regulatory period, which begins in the middle of the year, they will sell the electricity on the free market and will have a contract for difference. It will compensate for the price difference achieved on the market. "This will increase the liquidity of the free electricity market and will ensure that we get the real market price," he said.
Source: Monitor (07.02.2018)

Employers satisfied, the price of electricity falls The employers' organizations BICA, BIA, BCCI and CEIBG are already satisfied with the electricity price and will not stage protests, at least for now. This was made clear by the words of the President of BICA Vassil Velev after another meeting of the business with the Government because of the abnormal increase of the electricity prices of the so- called free market. According to him, if the offers for small business were between BGN 90 and BGN 125 per MWh 2 months ago, they are now priced between BGN 83 and BGN 100. However, employers do not completely rule out protests. Velev added that there is already a change in the behavior of the electricity vendors - state-owned companies NPP Kozloduy and TPP Maritza-Iztok 2, but there are still "very serious reserves". Velev specified that the general solution would come when the contracts with the US TPPs were completed, for which he expects more energetic efforts on the part of the Ministry of Energy and the Government.
Source: Monitor (22.02.2018)

China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC) has sent a letter of interest (LoI) to invest in the construction of Belene nuclear power plant (NPP), energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova said. The LoI was sent by the Chinese company in mid-February. In December, after meetings with Bulgarian government officials, CNNC and Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) expressed interest to be included in the construction of the nuclear power plant. Bulgaria's energy ministry should submit with parliament by the end of June specific proposals for the possible revival of a project for the construction of a second nuclear power plant (NPP) in the country. In 2008, Bulgaria hired Atomstroyexport to build a nuclear plant in Belene, reviving a project that had been mothballed for nearly two decades. After the project made scant headway, Sofia finally abandoned it with a parliament decision in February 2013. The government cancelled the project a year earlier due to disagreement over its estimated cost and failure to attract a strategic investor. In December 2016, NEK paid EUR 601.6 million as compensation to Atomstroyexport, a subsidiary of Russia's Rosatom, for the equipment manufactured by the Russian company for the Belene project, which Bulgaria had abandoned.
Source: Standart (19.03.2018)

Bulgaria's IBEX launches intraday trading segment The Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (IBEX) said it launched on Wednesday an intraday trading segment in a move which is expected to reduce balancing expenses and bring IBEX closer to coupling with the European Intraday market. "Producers of energy, including energy from renewable sources, traders and consumers will be able to avail themselves of this new market segment, as the trading options are as close as possible to physical delivery times," Konstantin Konstantinov, the executive director of IBEX, said in a statement. A total of 20 participants have already registered on the new segment. Trading will be conducted through a web-based platform developed by Norway's Nord Pool AS. The platform supports round the clock trading with gate closure 60 min. before physical delivery, common settlement system and shared collateral with the Day Ahead market segment and also common REMIT reporting platform. The introduction of the intraday market segment will allow IBEX to couple with the European intraday market, which is expected to happen by 2020. On Tuesday, Macedonia's government said it has discussed and accepted the proposed text of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on coupling the country's day-ahead electricity market with its peer market in Bulgaria.
Source: mediapool.bg (12.04.2018)

Power Distributors in Bulgaria Seek 8% - 20% Increase in Prices of Electricity The electricity distribution companies in Bulgaria CEZ, EVN and Energo Pro have submitted applications to the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) requesting 8% to 20% increase in the prices of electricity as of 1st of July, the regulator said on 17th of April. The largest increase in power price, by 20%, was requested by CEZ which is the company supplying electricity in West Bulgaria. Thus, if a household has an average bill of 54 BGN per month, the bill would go up by 11BGN. The cause is the requested sharp increase in the night tariff. The lowest proposed increase is by 8.17% by Energo Pro for North-East Bulgaria, where the average bill would rise by 5 BGN. The proposed increase for South-East Bulgaria is by 9%, which would also increase by nearly 5 BGN. The chair of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission again reassured that the requests were excessive and would most likely not be fully satisfied.
Source: Capital (19.04.2018)

NEC reports first yearly profit after 2012, but remains in poor financial condition The National Electricity Company (NEC) finished 2017 at net profit (BGN 6.9 million) for the first time since 2012. For the first quarter of 2018, the financial result before tax is also positive - BGN 72.8 million. Nevertheless, the company remains in extremely difficult financial condition. The uncovered loss from previous periods is close to BGN 1.2 billion, and the value of the current liabilities of the company in general exceeds that of the assets by BGN 562 million. Despite the stabilization of the energy system after 2015 and the reported profit NEC has colossal obligations - over BGN 3.8 billion, which not only do not decrease but increase as book value of BGN 37 million in 2017 due to the made deferrals and renegotiations. The company mainly owes money to BEH – BGN2.35 billion. NEC is also a debtor to other related parties such as Kozloduy NPP, ESO and Maritsa East 2 TPP with the amount of BGN 300 million. For the Ministry of Energy, NEC has to reimburse BGN 850 million, which is part of the state aid granted to repay its obligations for the lost arbitration case for Belene. The trade and other liabilities of the company are BGN 242 million and the bank loans - another BGN 100 million. The financial result of the company for the period was positive - BGN 72.8 million but decreased by BGN 47.5 million compared to the same period last year.
Source: Capital (14.05.2018)

BEH will issue Eurobonds The Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) started a series of meetings with international investors in connection with the planned issuance of Eurobonds worth EUR 500 mln. The series of meetings will begin in London and will continue in Frankfurt and Vienna. Following the successful conclusion of the negotiations, BEH will issue new 7-year and 10-year Eurobonds. BEH has hired Citigroup and First Financial Brokerage House to direct the forthcoming bond issue that is needed to refinance the company's 5-year Eurobond debt of EUR 500 million due in November this year. It will refinance the EUR 500 mln bond loan that the holding company issues in 2013 at a yield of 4.25%. BEH also sold a second bond issue two years ago worth EUR 550 million at a yield of 4.88%, maturing in 2021. The expectations are by refinancing the first BEH emission to save service fees. The holding plans to double listing of the new Eurobonds on both the Bulgarian and the Irish Stock Exchange. Through BEH the state owns the biggest energy companies in Bulgaria for production, supply and transmission of electricity, natural gas and lignite coal - Kozloduy NPP, Maritza East 2 TPP, NEK, ESO, Bulgargaz, Bulgartransgaz and Mini Maritsa East.
Source: Standart (18.06.2018)

Kozloduy NPP sold 416% more electricity on the exchange Kozloduy NPP sold 416% more electricity in the first quarter compared to the same period last year. The amount of the exchange deals is BGN 2.7 million. For the same period in 2017, the share of bilateral contracts in the free market trade fell by 88% at the expense of the increased stock exchange trade. Thus the changes in the energy law, which obliged all electricity to be traded on the stock exchange (except for the small power plants and the subsidized producers) gives results. The net profit for the first quarter after tax is BGN 87 million, compared to BGN 49 million in the previous year, or 77% growth. The fact is that the free market reflects well on the financial health of the plant. The profit of the nuclear power plant was over 8000% in 2017. It continues to supply electricity to the regulated market as well. The other state-owned power plant - Maritsa East 2 TPP, reported a loss of BGN 19.53 million, with a profit of 5.2 million in the same period in 2017. The coal-powered plant paid BGN 45 million for carbon emissions. For comparison, its personnel costs are BGN 24.9 million.
Source: 24 chasa (20.06.2018)

New plasma melting plant opens at Bulgaria's nuclear power site A new plasma melting facility at Bulgaria's nuclear power plant (NPP) Kozloduy has started operations, following a EUR 31 million investment, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development said. The facility, which will be operated by the State Enterprise Radioactive Waste (SERAW), has a capacity of up to 250 tonnes per year. The technology allows for treatment of waste with a minimum risk of radioactive contamination. The EBRD-managed Kozloduy International Decommissioning Support Fund (KIDSF) financed 65% of the project, while Bulgaria provided the remaining 35%. Spain's Iberdrola Ingenieria y Construccion was the project's engineering company, while Belgium's Belgoprocess acted as the process provider. NPP Kozloduy remained with two operational units of 1,000 MW each, Units 5 and 6, after Bulgaria closed down four older units of 440 MW each to address the nuclear safety concerns of the European Union prior to the country's accession to the bloc in 2007.
Source: Darik Radio (11.07.2018)

KEVR changes the electricity trading rules The regulatory framework for the electricity sector continues to change. Following the amendments to the Energy Act and the Renewable Energy Act, which obliged RES producers with power plants of a capacity of 4 MW or more to sell only on the exchange, and the EDC and ESO to buy the necessary quantities for technological needs there, the Electricity Trading Rules will now be rewritten. The draft amendment will be discussed by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission on 25 July. And the novelties are related to the reorganization of the work of the balancing market, regulating the role of the Power System Security Fund, as well as the ability to stop current consumers who have obligations to old suppliers. One of the current shocks in the free electricity market is that unfair consumers (mostly companies) can accrue liabilities to a supplier of electricity and then conclude a contract with another. Thus, even though they are irregular payers, they are not left without electricity, and victims can only claim their claims through court proceedings.
Source: Capital (25.07.2018)

The Belene report raised BEH consultants' expenses by more than 50% The elaboration of the controversial BAS report on the need for Belene NPP has raised the expenses for consultants of the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) with over 50%. Thus, if for the first six months of last year the company has given BGN 1.2 million for "External services", now the account has expanded to BGN 1.9 million. This shows the holding's report for the first half of the year. Some of the companies in the energy sector, such as Kozloduy NPP, reported a significant improvement in their finances. Others, like NEK, continue to lag behind and even hint at the need for a loan or other kind of funding to survive. The loss of the state-owned telecom company Bulgartel is almost constant, while the Electricity System Operator dispatches its profit to BGN 8.9 million. In April the BAS presented its final report summarizing the recommendations of all analyzes and conclusions from the interim reports of the consultant in a comprehensive National Energy Strategy with a focus on electricity. However, it is not clear whether Bulgaria needs Belene NPP or not.
Source: Sega (02.08.2018)

State-owned companies in the energy sector are indebted to BEH State energy companies are increasingly indebted to their parent company - the Bulgarian Energy Holding. This shows the financial statements of the companies for the first six months of the year. For the period January - July BEH's receivables from its subsidiaries increased by BGN 293 million to BGN 3.07 billion. The largest energy company in Bulgaria continues to finance the companies in its group, which are in severe financial condition. Among the most indebted companies is the public electricity supplier - NEK. The uncovered loss of the company's past years towards the end of the last six months reached already BGN 1.18 billion. The overdue payables of the company for the same period are BGN 360 million. Thus, the company, which redistributes electricity in the country, ends the half-year with a loss of BGN 75 million. According to the financial statement, without the support of BEH, there are serious doubts that NEK can continue to operate. Loss for the first six months of the year is also reported by the state-owned Maritza East 2 TPP and the mining company Maritsa East. The Bulgarian Energy Holding receives funds from its profitable companies, which then redistributes to the losing ones. Traditionally, the profitable companies in the first half of 2018 are the Kozloduy NPP, the gas carrier Bulgartransgaz, the owner of the ESO transmission grids.
Source: econ.bg (08.08.2018)

Bulgaria's TPP Maritsa Iztok 2 to pay 153 mln euro for emission allowances by Mar 2019 Bulgarian state-owned thermal power plant (TPP) Maritsa Iztok 2 will have to pay over 300 million levs ($177.5 million/153.4 million euro) by March 2019 for buying emission allowances, energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova said on Tuesday. A working group within the energy ministry has drafted short and long term measures for strenghtening the financial state of the plant, Petkova said in a statement on Tuesday. The greenhouse gas emission allowances are part of the EU Emissions Trading System, which works on the “cap and trade” principle. Within the cap, companies receive or buy emission allowances which they can trade among themselves as needed. Each year companies must surrender enough allowances to cover all their emissions, otherwise fines are imposed. In the first half of the year, the plant booked 115 million levs in expenses for greenhouse gas emission allowances, according to its interim financial statement. Maritsa Iztok 2 has eight operating units with a total installed capacity of 1,620 MW.
Source: mediapool.bg (17.10.2018)

European Parliament Energy Committee Adopts Report on Kozloduy NPP with Bulgarian MEP as Rapporteur The European Parliament Committee on Industry, Research and Energy voted, 38-3, to approve a draft report on a dedicated financial programme for decommissioning of nuclear facilities at the Kozloduy and Bohunice NPPs. After negotiations, the Committee reached a compromise, deciding that projects and activities funded in the period 2021-2027 under the Kozloduy programme or the Bohunice programme will be subject to a minimum EU co-financing rate, rather than to a maximum rate of 50 per cent, as the European Commission proposed. The Committee also supported the proposal that, just as in the previous programme, Bulgaria will get 60 per cent of the requisite funding from the EU. "The draft proposal was supplemented, clearly stating that Kozloduy Units 3 and 4 were decommissioned prematurely and could have operated even to date, generating electricity at a price of 100 leva/MWh or some 400 million euro annually. A sovereign decision made by sovereign states is one thing. In this case, however, this was a condition set by the European Union which at that time consisted of 15 Member States," the press release says.
Source: Standart (05.12.2018)