State-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz has sent letters to all heating utilities to inform about supply cuts necessitated by the reduction in gas deliveries received via the pipeline through Ukraine.

Valentin Terziyski, head or the chamber of energy sector workers at the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), explained in a Thursday interview for the Bulgarian National Television that the decrease would amount to 50% of the quantities requested by the heating utilities.

He argued that there were two major problems, including the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, over which Bulgaria had no direct influence, and the financial problems plaguing the domestic energy system.

Terziyski, as cited by investor.bg, pointed out that Bulgaria needed fresh financial resources to secure alternative fuel supplies.

Meanwhile, Wednesday’s trilateral talks between Russia, Ukraine and the European Commission, which lasted around 12 hours, yielded no decision on securing gas supplies to Kiev in winter.

Negotiations are expected to continue on Thursday.

On Wednesday, Bulgaria’s Ministry of Economy and Energy announced that there had been a decrease in the pressure in the gas pipeline and the country was not receiving the negotiated quantities.

Terziyski suggested that the situation had deteriorated on Thursday morning and the pressure in the pipeline had dropped further.

He said that the industry would be hardest-hit by the measure, including metallurgy, chemical industry and the production of glass, while households were unlikely to be affected because they were protected consumers.

Terziyski also said that the best-case scenario for this winter involved Ukraine securing USD 4.5 B and paying for Russian gas deliveries, in which case Bulgaria would only have to handle the problem of troubled companies in the domestic energy sector, while the worst-case scenario included a combination of the financial deficit in the energy system and a gas supply reduction or suspension, in which case the country would face heating and power blackouts.

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