Electric power

Bulgaria has started building a 240 million euro ($268 million) gas pipeline with Greece that will end the Balkan country's total dependence on Russian gas and help diversify supplies in southeastern Europe.

Schneider Electric contacted Greek power grid manager DEDDIE on Monday to express its interest in the replacement of the approximately 7.5 million conventional electricity meters in Greece with smart ones, in a project totaling 1.5 billion euros.

The common front between the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE) and the Independent Power Transmission Operator (ADMIE) against the Cypriot EuroAsia consortium appears to be cracking due to the project for the power interconnection of Crete with Attica.

A drastic appreciation of the night electricity price for household consumers as of July 1 with more than 51% demanded from CEZ, and for the daily electricity price - about 11%, it is clear from the price proposal of the company, deposited in the State Agency of Energy Regulation (KEVR).

EVN offers an increase in the daily tariff by 4.6% and by over 8% for the night.

Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras arrived at the royal palace in Amman, where he was welcomed by King Abdullah, Jordan, shortly before noon.

Tsipras is attending the Second Cyprus-Greece-Jordan summit. Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades will also attend.

The three countries' foreign ministers met earlier Sunday.

For the first time in 25 years, Crete suffered a blackout on 22 March following an explosion to an old transformer which plunged the Greek island into darkness and made it vulnerable to future power outages.

Greek companies are de facto excluded from the project for the power interconnection of Crete and Attica, according to the technical standards required by the tenders for the high-voltage direct current (HDVC) converter stations and cables.

Electric cars are gaining popularity around the world and in Bulgaria. As of the end of February this year, in Traffic Police 785 cars are registered, that are only driven by electricity. But what are the reasons their number to be still too low and how can this change?

The government insists on proceeding with the power interconnection of Crete and Attica without European Commission co-funding. This is made clear in a letter from Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis to Energy Commissioner Miguel Arias Canete, dated January 30.

Power rate hikes are now on their way up due to an initiative by the Regulatory Authority for Energy (RAE), as Energy Minister Giorgos Stathakis has again rejected the proposal to that effect by Public Power Corporation.