Bulgaria's State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) has fined again the power supplier CEZ over the delay in reinstatement of the monthly bills.

The Deputy Head of DKEVR, Valentin Kirchev, announced Monday the probe of the other supplier EVN will conclude on May 25th, after which the Commission along with the State Agency for National Security (DANS) and the National Revenue Agency (NRA) will probe CEZ, and the third major power supplier EON.

Kirchev says preliminary probes in all 3 already revealed violations, adding all probes will be done by July 1, which is the date new electric power prices will become effective.

DKEVR have informed they expect prices to go down, especially if the probes show the companies have artificially increased their cost by outsourcing, while CEZ, E.ON and EVN already asked for a hike between 3% and 10%.

DKEVR issued two fines for CEZ, in the amount of BGN 100 000 and BGN 60 000 for delaying the reinstating on the monthly billing cycle as ruled by the Court.

In November 2009, a five-member panel of the Supreme Administrative Court upheld the ruling of its three-member panel, which turned down the appeal of the company against a 2008 decision of the energy regulator, forcing CEZ to end its three-month electric power billing by the end of March, 2009 in a bid to protect consumers' interests.

CEZ has already been fined with BGN 500 000 fine on CEZ for not introducing monthly bills.

After the Court's rule, the Czech power utility, which supplies power to over 2 million households and companies in western Bulgaria, including the capital Sofia, announced it will introduce monthly bills as of February 1.

In the beginning of April, Prime Minister, Boyko Borisov, declared the three power utilities and the lobbyists who helped implement the present electricity pricing schemes have committed a “daylight robbery,“ vowed to involve the Prosecutor's Office in the probe and even threatened CEZ, E.ON and EVN with nationalization.

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