The price of the electricity generated by Maritza Iztok (Maritza East) unit one will be initially USD 0.044 and by 2016 it will go down to $0.022 to become the lowest energy price in the Balkan region, Richard Mardon, representative of US American Energy Systems (AES) to Bulgaria, said. Last week the Cabinet decided to finalise the deals for units one and three of the local coal-fired electricity generating plant Maritza Iztok. The deals initiated back in 1998 stirred public agitation. The US party, which plans to invest some $1.4 Bln. recently stated that in case the deals are not concluded by the end of May AES and the second US company, Entergy, will withdraw. The discussion included political overtones with the warning of NMS II of the Bulgarian ex-monarch not to finalise the contracts before the general elections scheduled for June 17,2001. The deals are absolutely transparent, Mardon added. The two contracts are special importance green field investments, Ivan Shiliashki, National Electricity Company (NEK) CEO, said.