Amendments Allowing Power Price Cut in Bulgaria to be Promulgated

Newly adopted amendments to Bulgaria's Energy Act paving the way for a decrease in electricity prices are to be promulgated Thursday in an extraordinary issue of the State Gazette.

On Wednesday, the committee on economy, energy, and tourism of Bulgaria's Parliament adopted conclusively legal amendments allowing the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) to update electricity tariffs more often than once a year.

DKEVR is expected to call an urgent meeting on Thursday or Friday to decide on a decrease in electricity prices.

Outgoing Economy and Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev refused to specify a concrete price drop on Wednesday, as did representatives of Bulgaria's energy watchdog.

Dobrev made clear, however, that electricity tariffs would be changed by reducing the share of power plants making expensive electricity and increasing the share of the Kozloduy NPP in the energy mix and curbing eligible technical losses of power distributors to 10%.

High electricity bills have triggered series of mass nationwide protests in Bulgaria over the past 2-3 weeks, with protesters calling for various steps such as chasing out the three power distributors functioning in the country, nationalization of power distributors, non-payment of electricity bills, dismantling of electricity meters, etc.

The protests led to the resignation of the center-right GERB government and the launch of probes at power distributors CEZ, EON, and Energo-Pro by prosecutors and tax officials.