Bulgarians Join Balkan Protest Against Soaring Food Prices
Bulgaria has joined Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Montenegro in organizing protests against rising food prices
Bulgarian railway workers are set to support a protest strike of the minors and workers at thermal power plants in the country.
At the end of last week, minors and thermal plant workers from the Maritsa East complexes – which harbors three of the largest Bulgarian TPPs, as well as those from the Bobov Dol TPP – announced that would stage a protest rally on Tuesday before the building of Bulgaria's State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR).
The miners and energy workers protest the fact that even though the energy that they produce is cheaper than energy from other sources, it remains largely ignored by the state regulator allowing the three power utilities – CEZ, EVN, and Energo-Pro – to charge excessive prices for electricity, which in turn led recently to mass street protests across Bulgaria and the resignation of the Borisov Cabinet.
According to Petar Bunev, head of the railway union at the Confederation of Independent Bulgarian Syndicates, the railway workers will back the protest of the miners and TPP operators because about 30% of the goods transported by state-owned freight operator BDZ Freight Services are made up from coal for the respective TPPs, and any reduction of the volume of transported coal would lead to layoffs at the railways.
On Sunday, Bulgaria's Electricity System Operator turned off three of the units of the state-owned Maritsa East 2 TPP, as well as three more units at TPP Maritsa East 1 and TPP Maritsa East 3.
ESO made this move based on the current legislation which states that energy from solar and wind parks has to be bought out before energy from other sources regardless of the fact that it is several times more expensive.
Bunev said he would insist before DKEVR that the purchase of green energy from renewable sources be restricted because it hurts Bulgarian industries and consumers.
For the ninth consecutive year (excluding 2022), the electrical industry remains the largest contributor to Bulgaria's exports, as reported by the Bulgarian Association of Electrical Engineering and Electronics (BASEL)
European natural gas prices have climbed above €55 per megawatt-hour for the first time in 16 months, driven by colder temperatures across the continent that are increasing demand for heating fuel
Serbian oil and gas company NIS, controlled by Russia’s Gazprom, is considering exiting its operations in Bulgaria and Romania due to ongoing difficulties in both markets
The Russian company Lukoil initiated the process of selling its Bulgarian assets in June last year, Prime Minister Rosen Zhelyazkov announced during a parliamentary hearing
In 2023, 10.6% of the population in the European Union reported being unable to keep their homes adequately warm
The Bulgarian government has announced a program to compensate businesses and non-household electricity subscribers for high energy costs until the end of March
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