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From Bulgaria
19.02.2014 16:17
© publics.bg
Bulgaria’s State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) intends to introduce a new fee for transmission grid access aimed only at wind and solar energy producers selling electricity by feed-in tariffs, sparing conventional and other renewable generations, such as biomass-fired plants.
The proposed fee, publicly discussed with involved stakeholders Tuesday, is meant to replace an old taxation method, introduced in September 2012, covering all renewables according to their operation start date and capacity. In less than a year this fee, collected by regional utilities, was subsequently abolished by the Supreme Administrative Court. It continued to be levied however, hitting nearly BGN 200 million in December 2013. It is yet unclear how and when these amounts will be restored to renewable energy producers.
The new fee did not fail to raise eyebrows among companies in the renewables sector. It was deemed discriminatory, as it targets wind and PV specifically, rather than address grid balancing expenses created by all energy producers in the country.
“We intend to appeal, if the fee enters in force”, Meglena Rusenov, head of the Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association stated, as quoted by Sega Daily.
The new measure is to be voted on March 14. If introduced by the regulator, it will add up to another recently installed fee, chipping off 20 percent of renewables producers’ incomes from regulated market sales.
According to a preliminary proposal, published by the regulator, the fee will amount to BGN 2.45 (about EUR 1.25) per megawatthour payable to the Transmission System Operator (ESO) regardless. If a producer is connected to the distribution grid, rather to the transmission grid directly, then it will be the distribution grid operator’s obligation to collect the fee and transfer it to ESO.
The three distribution utilities in Bulgaria, owned by CEZ, Energo-Pro and EVN, disputed this last condition, saying it would increase greatly their expenses against a background of lower income due to recently lowered household electricity prices. Electric utilities in Bulgaria have been forced to downscale their investment programmes for 2014 due to lowered electricity prices and a downward review of their ackowledged technical expenses.
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