Ex Energy Minister: Belene NPP, Tsankov Kamak HPP Drove Bulgaria's Power Co into Debts

Business » ENERGY | June 30, 2013, Sunday // 17:32
Bulgaria: Ex Energy Minister: Belene NPP, Tsankov Kamak HPP Drove Bulgaria's Power Co into Debts Delyan Dobrev, former Economy and Energy Minister and current MP of center-right party GERB, photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's National Electric Company (NEK) would have resources of BGN 600 M if the Belene nuclear power plant and the Tsankov Kamak hydropower plant had not eaten up a total of BGN 2.5 B, according to Delyan Dobrev, former Minister of Economy and Energy and current MP of center-right party GERB.

Speaking at a press conference in Haskovo on Sunday, Dobrev, as cited by the Focus news agency, commented on the situation of NEK and Bulgaria's energy sector.

Dobrev noted that the emphasis of Thursday's extraordinary press conference of Dragomir Stoynev had been the fact that NEK had run up debts of BGN 1.9 B, most of which were obligations to the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) and the Kozloduy NPP (over BGN 1 B).

"This is indeed true – these figures cannot be manipulated – but we must also take into account the fact that NEK would now have BGN 600 M if the company had not spent BGN 1.5 B on the Belene NPP project and BGN 1 B on the Tsankov Kamak hydropower plant. When citing figures, it would be a good idea to keep in mind where all of these debts of NEK came from," Dobrev declared.

As regards the delayed separation of the Electricity System Operator (ESO) from NEK, over which Bulgaria may face a fine of BGN 9000 a day, Dobrev claimed that the international consultancy was to be held responsible if it had failed to do its job by the deadline.

Bulgaria's former Energy Minister noted that penalties by the European Commission were not imposed automatically but after a conviction for breaches of EU legislation.

"There has been no such conviction so far. This process usually lasts between one and two years. If the irregularity is removed during this period, there will be no penalty," he added.

Energy and Economy Minister Dragomir Stoynev stated earlier on Sunday that NEK was in a critical condition due to its debts of BGN 1.9 B.

He specified that NEK owed the Bulgarian Energy Holding a total of BGN 755 M, its debt to the Kozloduy nuclear power plant amounted to BGN 320 M, and its debt to heating utilities stood at BGN 60 M.

He also noted that Bulgaria faced a fine of BGN 9000 a day over its failure to complete the spin-off of the Electricity System Operator (ESO) from NEK by June 30, 2013, as required by the EU's Thired Energy Package.

Stoynev argued that the caretaker government had deliberately blocked the spin-off procedure by restructuring the Board of Directors of ESO and amending its articles of associations 2 days before Stoynev assumed the office of Energy Minister.

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Tags: Dragomir Stoynev, Kozloduy NPP, Belene NPP, Tsankov Kamak hydropower plant, Bulgarian Energy Holding, Third Energy Package, ESO, Electricity System Operator, NEK, National Electric Company, Delyan Dobrev, GERB, infringement procedure

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