Bulgaria's Current Parliament Must Finish Work on Energy Act Amendments – Outgoing Minister

Outgoing Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev has insisted that Bulgaria's Parliament finish work on a set of proposed amendments to the Energy Act in its remaining few weeks in office.

Bulgaria's center-right government of Prime Minister Boyko Borisov resigned last week in response to mass protests against high electricity bills and monopoly power utilities.

"We support the proposed amendments to the Energy Act concerning the State Commission for Energy and Water regulation (DKEVR). They are also backed by DKEVR in a stance they sent to the Ministry. However, these provisions will not suffice to decide on the amendments. I insist that Parliament finish work on the remaining amendments to the Energy Act," Dobrev stated Tuesday during a sitting of the Parliamentary Committee on Economy, Energy and Tourism.

Dobrev, as cited by Bulgarian mass circulation daily 24 Hours, added that another set of important amendments concerning the spin-off of the Electricity System Operator ESO from its parent, the National Electricity Company NEK, was also to be adopted or else at least six months would be lost waiting for a new Parliament.

Dobrev further argued that Bulgaria had to adopt amendments to the Privatization and Post-Privatization Control Act concerning the Nabucco gas pipeline project.

"We need to think and regulate payments for the green surcharge. The money from the green surcharge must go to a special fund. This will solve problems of NEK, which pays to producers of renewable energy without registering any real profits from thus energy" he stated.

"We have also received proposals from DKEVR for legal changes concerning factory power plants. The proposal is to exclude them from the energy mix. Factory power plants have been spun off into separate companies. Another proposal of DKEVR is to stop all payments to producers of green energy for a period of one year," Dobrev explained.