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From Bulgaria
07.12.2015 16:46
© publics.bg
The future model of the Bulgarian electricity market might make use of bilateral contracts for difference, so that the feed-in tariffs for renewable energy are guaranteed in a liberalised environment, Bulgarian Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) chairman Prof. Ivan Ivanov said. He was among the speakers during a forum dedicated to the changes in the country’s energy sector expected to take place in 2016.
The difference between the guaranteed prices and the market price of electricity would be covered by the energy security fund, which is accumulating 5 percent of the monthly income of energy producers and importers since the summer of 2015. The practice has been applied in recent years for new RES projects and nuclear stations worldwide, such as the Hinkley Point C NPP in Great Britain.
Garry Levesley, CEO of ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 TPP presented several options for the restructuring of the existing PPAs with coal power stations in the Maritsa East complex, namely ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 TPP and AES Galabovo TPP. In his words, there are five viable options: mandatory inclusion of these power plants in the liberalized market, voluntary or mandatory renegotiation of the PPAs, creation of a new legal entity which would conclude contracts for differences, or state buying-up of the contracts. Mr. Levesley stated that the first two options could lead to legal disputes which would take long to settle. He cited the Polish experience, in which case the renegotiation took seven years, starting in 2000.
“PPAs do not hinder the liberalization of the electricity market, we just have to find the right way to integrate them in it”, Mr. Levesley said, reminding that the two PPAs are related to loan agreements totaling EUR 1.25 bn.
Bulgaria’s energy minister Temenuzhka Petkova reported about an improvement in the financial state of the state-owned National Electricity Company (NEK), for the 1 January – 30 September period of this year, compared to the same period of 2014. The first nine months of 2014 saw NEK declaring a BGN 324 m (EUR 162 m) loss, while this was decreased to BGN 218 m in 2015. Ms. Petkova said that BGN 2.3 bn of the BGN 3.7 bn deficit at NEK are due to the investment decisions for Belene NPP, which was cancelled in 2012, and the Tsankov Kamak hydro power plant. Regulatory deficits amount to BGN 1.4 bn, Ms. Petkova precised.
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