Evgenia Haritonova, Chair of Bulgaria's State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR), has said that there are not many options for a decrease in electricity prices at the moment.

A reduction in the electricity transmission fee has been proposed as a solution to the crisis plaguing Bulgaria's energy system due to the excess production of electricity amid low consumption on the domestic market and weak exports, mediapool.bg notes.

On April 4, Bulgaria's Electricity System Operator (ESO) introduced temporary restrictions on the output of all power plants in the country in a bid to maintain the balance between production and consumption.

"Electricity transmission costs cannot be reduced. What has largely been referred to as a transmission fee is not a fee but the transmission tariff which includes the fee and the respective surcharges" Haritonova explained Monday in an interview for the Bulgarian National Radio (BNR).

She added that the tariff, which had been set by DKEVR, applied to the entire transmission network.

Haritonova made clear that the so-called green surcharge had been set by the energy watchdog to ensure compliance with legal provisions.

She noted that the renewable energy surcharge could only be revoked once a new Parliament took office because the step would otherwise constitute a breach of law.

The DKEVR Chair announced that the only measure which could be taken by the start of the new regulatory period on July 1, 2013 was to revoke the so-called brown surcharge on electricity exports.

Stressing that the brown surcharge had not been an idea of DKEVR but was determined by the EU, she said that the fee could be suspended temporarily as the National Electric Company (NEK) was under obligation to buy the entire output of thermal power plants and industrial thermal power plants at high prices.

Haritonova suggested that a decrease by BGN 6 in electricity export prices was a reasonable option for the time being.

The Chair of Bulgaria's energy watchdog informed that DKEVR would consider a new objective price decrease as of July 1, 2013.

Commenting on the ordinances concerning energy market liberalization over which Bulgaria faced infringement proceedings, she said that the documents had been prepared and would be promulgated in the State Gazette by the end of the week.