United Kingdom Prolongs Lukoil License for Operations in Bulgaria
The United Kingdom has decided to extend the validity of the general license covering Lukoil’s subsidiaries operating in Bulgaria, the Ministry of Energy announced.
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Petr Dokladal, Chairman and Regional Manager of CEZ Bulgaria, believes the audit will show no grounds for scrapping power distributors' licenses. Photo by BGNES
The audit being conducted by Bulgaria's energy watchdog DKEVR at Czech-based power distributor CEZ has found no lapses so far, the company announced on Tuesday.
According to results of the financial inspection, no violation of license duties has been committed by the power distributor, Dnevnik.bg has reported.
Most remarks regarding CEZ's activities involve omissions such as "the numbering of electricity poles" or "trimming trees and grass", the chief executive of CEZ Distribution, Stefan Apostolov, said at a news conference.
The audit began in 2014 and refers to CEZ's activities between July 2008 and November 2013. CEZ's regional manager, Petr Dokladal, told journalists he did not see any danger to the company's license in Bulgaria.
His words come amid a scandal in which CEZ was embroiled over hundreds of millions of BGN worth debts which the National Electricity Company (NEK) claims from the three power distributors operating in Bulgaria.
CEZ, EVN and Energo-Pro however insist they have kept back money to balance on their budgets, after not being paid any fees by renewable energy producers.
Economy Minister Dragomir Stoynev has threatened to suspend the distributors' permits to operate in Bulgaria unless they transfer the necessary amounts of money to NEK.
Some say Bulgaria's energy system is under threat if no hike on electricity prices is adopted to cover expenses of both power distributors and the state-owned electricity company.
Bulgaria’s fuel market has recorded a sharp upward shift since the outbreak of the war in Iran, with diesel and petrol prices rising significantly across the country
The second exploration drilling in the Krum-1 area of the Khan Asparuh block in Bulgaria’s Black Sea has also failed to identify commercially significant natural gas deposits, according to OMV Petrom
The Ombudswoman institution has voiced strong opposition to the proposed increase in heating prices in Sofia, which is expected to approach nearly 30 percent
The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) in Bulgaria has set the price of natural gas for April 2026 at 34.27 euros per megawatt-hour, excluding access, transmission, excise duties and VAT
Fuel prices in Bulgaria have recorded a sharp upward movement over the past month, with diesel showing the most significant increase, according to data from the Fuelo platform
Bulgargaz has defended its previously submitted proposal for a 5% rise in natural gas prices for April before the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, with CEO Veselin Sinabov stressing that there is currently no justification for any further increases
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