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Talks about the sale of Maritsa East 3, a Bulgarian coal-fired plant with a capacity of 908 megawatts, emerged for the first time at the beginning of March. Photo by klassa.bg
Austria's utility EVN has confirmed it is holding talks for the acquisition of a majority stake in Bulgaria’s Maritsa East 3 coal-fired power plant.
The Executive Director of Italy energy giant Enel, Fulvio Conti, announced in March that the company is considering the sale of its 73% stake in Maritsa East 3.
“Enel is currently holding talks with many companies and EVN is just one of them,” a spokesman for the Austrian company said.
British utility International Power, US power producer AES Corp. and Russia's state power trader Inter RAO are also said to have shown interest in acquiring Enel majority stake in Maritsa East 3.
A year ago Enel increased the capacity of Maritsa East Three plant to 908 megawatts, up from 840 MW, and also put new desulphurisation installations on the plant's four units.
Experts comment that the potential buyer is probably eying a 100% stake in the plant, in which the state owns a 27% stake. The rumors were fanned by a statement of Energy and Economy Minister Traicho Traikov, who recently announced that the state can land EUR 200 M from the sale of its stake in the plant.
The plant is located in the Maritsa East lignite coal mining complex in southern Bulgaria.
Electricity and natural gas prices in Bulgaria remain among the lowest in the European Union, according to the latest figures published by the European statistics agency Eurostat for the first half of 2025.
Bulgaria currently has sufficient reserves of motor fuels and raw materials to cover normal domestic consumption for more than three months, Deputy Finance Minister Stanimir Mihaylov told lawmakers during an extraordinary sitting of the National Assembly
Energy expert Nikolay Kacharov, speaking to Bulgarian National Radio, highlighted that Bulgaria’s energy costs have risen significantly due to contractual obligations, even before considering increased gas prices caused by the conflict in the Middle East
Energy Minister Traycho Traykov has held talks with representatives of the Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association to discuss developments on international energy markets and their impact on fuel prices in Bulgaria
Fuel costs in Bulgaria have jumped sharply over the past week, rising between 6 and 9 percent, according to data from the platform Fuelo.
Global oil markets opened the week with an abrupt surge in prices, pushing crude benchmarks above the symbolic USD 100 per barrel mark for the first time since the early stages of the war in Ukraine in 2022
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