The rich nations of the European Union (EU) pay less for wholesale electricity than the poorer southern states. The cheapest electricity is in the Scandinavian countries and in Germany. It is most expensive in Italy, Greece and Portugal. Bulgaria is in the middle ground but pays more than the leading countries as well as the rapidly developing Baltic states of the EU. The reasons for this are the underdeveloped market, the lack of real competition and the connectivity of the energy systems. This shows data for the fourth quarter of last year of the European Commission's Directorate-General for Energy.

Thus, while in Denmark, Sweden and Finland average wholesale prices are in the range of 30-33 euros per megawatt hours, in Bulgaria the price is 40.70 euros. In Germany people also pa less for electricity - an average of 33.90 euros per megawatt hour. The cheapest is in Norway - 30 euros. At the same time, Italy, Greece and Portugal pay double - to almost 61 euros per megawatt hours.

The lack of a competitive electricity market in Bulgaria, which has been up for discussion for years, is the cause of expensive wholesale electricity. Late last year prices for free-market businesses went up. Employers then said it was manipulation on the market, as a limited number of players participated in it.

"At that time, there were two vendors - Kozloduy NPP and Maritsa Iztok 2 TPP - small volumes that raised the price with huge percentages, while at the same time in the nine months of last year the increase of the electricity at NPP and the state power plant is under 5%, then where did the difference come from? ", the head of the Industrial Capital Association Vassil Velev said before the newspaper Sega.

According to him, the price increase at the end of last year and early this year was devoid of economic logic and was the result of speculation. As a result, under the threat of protests, the National Assembly voted amendments to the Energy Act, with which traders on the stock exchange will become more. One major overhaul is green power plants with a capacity of over 4 megawatts and co-generators also sell their electricity at freely negotiated prices. That is why the business has called on the head of state Rumen Radev to promulgate the new Energy Act more quickly. The effect, however, will eventually be felt in months.

EC experts report that electricity prices in Europe have risen in most countries in the last three months of last year. But where is better connectivity to energy systems and more competition, the price is retained. In countries like Greece and Italy, which remain relatively isolated, the price is higher. Italy is also a net importer of electricity, which is also a factor in keeping Europe's highest price at the end of 2017.

Wholesale prices are important for the industry and for traders and are usually different from household prices. Eurostat data on retail prices for household consumers at the end of last year showed that the values ​​in our country are the lowest. In the first half of 2017, Bulgarians paid less than 10 euros per 100 kilowatt-hours, while in Denmark and Germany - over 30 euros. However, the comparison is only for the final prices and is not related to the level of income and purchasing power.