Private healthcare insurance continued to gather momentum in Bulgaria in 2009 when premium income topped BGN 28.4 million, up 27% year-on-year, showed preliminary data by the Financial Supervision Commission (FSC). The growth was fuelled by individual contracts signed by energy companies last year. At the end of 2008, DallBogg: Zhivot I Zdrave, a unit of local drug distributor Commercial League, clinched a deal with state-owned power utility NEK and electricity system operator ESO. The number of account holders with private health funds halved to less than 178,000 in 2009 from almost 357,000 in 2008 as many private employers and individual customers scrapped perks such as voluntary insurance. Euroins Health Insurance executive director Kalin Kostov said the company is enjoying keener interest from both private and corporate customers. He predicted that premiums will surge in 2010 in the face of the turmoil. For 2009, Euroins Health Insurance posted a 50% rise in premium income thanks to new contracts. For the first time since 2005, the sector raked in a profit but will remain rooted to negative territory from core activity. For 2009, the profit stood at BGN 1.3 million, but companies made BGN 135,000 from healthcare services. Still, this is the smallest loss since 2005 when they posted BGN 44,000. Thanks to new contracts, paid claims lagged behind, with a puny 1.34% uptick to BGN 21.4 million. Reserves slipped by 6% to BGN 12.3 million.
Source: Dnevnik (23.03.2010)

"The Electricity System Operator (ESO) posted BGN 42.7 mln in losses for 2009," company’s Executive Director, Ivan Yotov, said yesterday. He added that the operator was by BGN 5.9 mln in the red for the first four months of 2010. If the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) approves the proposal for new electricity prices, ESO would accrue another BGN 37.5 mln in losses from its operations. According to Yotov, the operator would not be able to guarantee the security of the power grid in that situation. It has already accumulated liabilities to the Bobov Dol and the Varna thermal power plants.
Source: Class (02.06.2010)

Trade in electricity on the domestic free market to increase The amount of electricity traded on the domestic free market is increasing, became clear from the financial report of the Electricity System Operator (ESO) for 2009, published on the company’s website. Over 17 million MWh were traded on the open market in Bulgaria last year, compared to 13.7 million MWh sold in 2008, and only 7.3 million MWh - in 2007. So far, there have been only future options for selling electricity on the free market, while daily trading is possible as of the beginning of July, according to ESO. This is the next step towards market liberalisation. Energy Minister, Traicho Traikov, has promised that an electricity exchange will be established in our country by the end of 2011. The operator, which is a subsidiary of the National Electricity Company (NEC), reported a 5.2% drop in electricity consumption last year, which was practically a decrease of 2 million MWh. The main reason for the decline was the economic downturn, which resulted in surplus capacities and raised ESO’s expenses, the operator’s experts pointed out. Exports of electricity from Bulgaria declined by 286,000 MWh or 5.3% last year and the company was BGN 42.7 mln in the red. In 2008, ESO posted a BGN 6.5 mln profit. The system operator believes that its losses were due to the regulations set by the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC). The average weighted price for access to the electricity grid used to be BGN 6.21/MWh until July 2009 and did not cover ESO’s expenses at a 100%, which stood at BGN 8.83/MWh. The system operator expects some BGN 15 mln in proceeds from the management of the energy grid this year, while it lost BGN 55.1 mln from this activity in 2009. Its revenues from the price for access to the electricity grid amounted to BGN 220.5 mln last year. About 35.5 mlm MWh were transferred through the electricity grid in 2009. Proceeds from the management of the electricity grid totalled BGN 281.9 mln.
Source: Class (12.07.2010)

Bulgaria on course to split BEH in two The Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) will most probably be split into two separate holding companies, energy minister Traycho Traykov said Friday. He explained that the first holding company will lump together the Electricity System Operator (ESO) plus transmission system assets, whereas all generating capacities will be bundled in the second one. Traykov pointed out that while there are a few other options on the table, this is the likeliest possibility. At the moment, BEH brings together the country’s main energy assets including national grid operator NEK, state-run gas distributor Bulgargaz, nuclear power plant Kozloduy, coal-fired power plant Maritsa East 2, coal miner Maritsa East, Bulgartransgaz, telecom operator Bulgartel and the Electricity System Operator. Its assets amount to some EUR 8.5 billion. Traykov said that a small portion of the holding company grouping generation companies could be listed for trading on the Bulgarian Stock Exchange (BSE), but no timescale has been set yet. Last week BEH welcomed a second executive director -- Yordan Georgiev, who previously worked at German consultancy Roland Berger Strategy Consultants. Sources read the appointment as a sign for a future slit-up at the company, with each of the current executive directors to be in charge of a separate group.
Source: Dnevnik (02.08.2010)

Bulgaria’s State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) has launched a probe into the grid security investments made by state-run power distributor NEK and the Electricity System Operator (ESO) over the past three years, said SEWRC chair Angel Semerdjiev. The check-up is prompted by the severe two-day breakdown in power supply that left in the dark all areas from Bourgas, on the southern Black Sea coast, all the way up to Byala. The regulator is still awaiting a written statement by NEK outlining the reasons that led to the power outage. After the disruption in power supply NEK started to revise its 2010 investment budget in search for an additional some BGN 20 million to repair its main power lines.
Source: Dnevnik (04.08.2010)

Official register îf renewable energy projects to be ready in September The national public register of projects for renewable energy sources (RES) is expected to be ready after mid-September, said yesterday for Klassa Nikola Gazdov, Chairman of the Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association. The register will have a website where everyone will be able to see the most important events in the field of green energy. All projects for facilities, planned to be built in Bulgaria, will enter the register. Besides them, the already installed capacities will also be listed. According to Gazdov, the State –owned NEK (National Electricity Company) and ESO (Electricity System Operator) and the private electricity distribution companies - CEZ, EVN and E.ON should also provide information on this type of projects. Information will be requested from the Ministry of Economy, Energy, and Tourism, the Ministries of Agriculture and Environment, and the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission. The register will help us decide whether the projects are realistic and which of them could be implemented, explained Gazdov. The map which is to be drafted will show the areas where the electric mains supply is overloaded and the attachment of new capacities is impossible. It is expected the register to provide information on the type of land where the facilities are being build or planned to be built. The system will show what the actual impact of renewable energy sources (RES) on the transmission and distribution grids in the country is and the amount of investments needed for the development of the energy infrastructure in general. Once the register is created and becomes operational, it will be placed at the disposal of the State authorities as well, said Gazdov. He noted that, according to the European Directives, each country had to prepare such a register and to make regular updates.
Source: Class (06.08.2010)

Carbon allowances to be traded on the Bulgarian commodity market for electricity "Not only electricity but carbon allowances as well would be traded on the Bulgarian commodity market for electricity," told Klassa Plamen Denchev, Member of the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC). Currently, SEWRC together with the Scandinavian commodity exchange Nord Pool ASA completes a project for the creation of a commodity exchange for electric power in the country. The Scandinavians have offered the Electricity System Operator (ESO) to operate the commodity exchange in the country. ESO has to establish a separate structure for this purpose. "ESO will have to organize the hourly transactions, those on the "day ahead" market, and those for the balancing market," said Denchev. "In the meantime, conditions for trading with greenhouse gas emissions will be created as well." According to Denchev, at a later stage, auctions for trading with natural gas may be held as well, but it can only happen after the diversification in the gas supplies. "Currently, ESO has the capacity to operate the commodity exchange for electricity power," said Denchev. The operator has already purchased the necessary software from Siemens, which would allow it to start trading. The company, which is now a subsidiary of NEK (National Electricity Company), should be detached and set up as a new enterprise, until March 2011, according to European Directives. At the beginning, the commodity exchange for electricity is expected to work only in Bulgaria, and at a later stage to be integrated with the same structures in Romania and Slovenia, so that a regional electricity market would be created. Denchev explained that before transactions would be launched on the commodity exchange, the rules for trade in electricity must be tested, which is going on at present. The Commodity Exchange will be enacted in July next year, and the first transaction can be expected in December 2011.
Source: Class (09.08.2010)

The Bulgarian National Electric Company (NEK) attacked Tuesday the Austrian-owned power utility EVN, saying the problems with electric supply to the southern Black Sea coast are the latter’s fault. NEK blames EVN for constantly attracting new customers without taking into account the capacity of the electric network which is owned by NEK. The move comes in the aftermath of the Monday press release distributed by EVN regarding talks between the company’s Regional Manager, Joerg Zolfelner, and Finance Minister, Simeon Djankov, on the issue of power outages that have been pestering summer resorts and beach towns lately. The press release pointed out the two have reached a joint conclusion problems stem from the state of the network and years-long lack of investments by the owner in this part of the country. NEK struck back at EVN, pointing out that tossing responsibilities around would not help solve the dilemma, adding they are stunned by EVN’s silence regarding their never-ending contracts with the countless new hotels, which have not been coordinated with the State company. “Is is obvious EVN wants the money and takes it when it is crystal clear the network does not have the capacity. They comment on us not making investments, but they do not do them either. It is not a secret to anyone EVN have serious problems with the quality of services in this area. The staggering problems cannot be solved in a matter of days; they need thorough analysis, urgent measures and team work, team work similar to the reaction of hotel owners at the “Sunny Beach” resort who agreed to limit the use of electricity” NEK say.
Source: Pari (18.08.2010)

NEK to invest BGN 1.1 bn in the power grid over the next five years “The National Electric Company (NEK) and the Electricity System Operator (ESO) must invest BGN 1.1 bn over the next five years in order to integrate 2,000 MW of capacity from renewable energy sources,” Ivan Hinovski, Chairman of the Bulgarian Energy Forum (BEF), said yesterday. According to him, this is the capacity that our country needs to build in order to reach its target of generating 16% of its electricity output from green energy. Preliminary contracts for incorporating 1,400 MW, mainly from solar and wind power plants, have already been signed. This will raise the price of electricity in our country by 5%, BEF’s expert Anton Ivanov estimated yesterday. According to him, electricity prices could increase even more if the consumption of electricity in Bulgaria grows. This will depend on the measures for the improvement of energy efficiency undertaken in our country. “There are plenty of legal imperfections in this sector at present which hinder its development,” said Hinovski. “The Government should focus its efforts on three specific projects in order to diversify natural gas supplies,” energy expert Hristo Kazandjiev said yesterday. According to him, this includes the construction of a gas connection with Turkey through which we can get gas from the Marmara - Ereglisi terminal. The construction of the Nabucco gas pipeline and of a new liquefied natural gas terminal near Kavala in Greece must be a priority. “Not only Bulgaria, but its neighboring countries as well will be able to receive gas from there,” added Kazandjiev.
Source: Class (12.10.2010)