Bulgaria to Not See Electricity Price Hikes in Years – Socialist MP

Socialist MP Yavor Kuyumdzhiev has assured that electricity prices in Bulgaria will not increase for years.

"Anybody may request an increase in power rates but what matters is what the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) permits, and the demands of power distributors are unrealistic," Kuyumdzhiev said Thursday in an interview for Nova TV.

He said that there was no reason for electricity prices to increase at the current stage, adding that it could happen in years, due to a growth in the inflation rate or the cost of raw materials.

The three power distributors operating in Bulgaria demanded an increase in electricity prices by around 9% as of July 1, investor.bg reminds.

Power distributors explained their demand with the fact that their night-time electricity tariff was below the price at which they purchased electricity from the National Electric Company (NEK) and that their investment costs were not recognized.

Ivan Genov, Executive Director of the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant (NPP), explained that the N-plant was accumulating losses through sales on the regulated marked and demanded that a bigger share of the output be sold on the free market.

Kuyumdzhiev, however, suggested that such demands were unrealistic, adding that there were opportunities for a further decrease in power tariffs, for instance by reducing the costs of power distributors.

He rejected accusations that the costs of power distributors were not recognized as investments.

Valentin Nikolov, former CEO of the Kozloduy NPP and member of center-right party GERB (Citizens for European Development of Bulgaria), who also took part in Thursday's discussion, pointed out that World Bank...