site.btaRevisions in Energy Act Will Not Allow EU-Funded RES Projects to Sell All Their Output at Preferential Prices

Revisions in Energy Act Will Not Allow  EU-Funded RES Projects to Sell All Their Output at Preferential Prices

Sofia, July 16 (BTA) - Proposed revisions in the Energy Act will make impossible a situation in which power plants using renewable energy sources (RES) are built on EU funding and then sell all of their electricity output at preferential prices, the head of the parliamentary energy committee and former Energy Minister Delyan Dobrev told reporters in Parliament Thursday.

Even if concessions are made for RES projects in general, they will not apply to those funded by EU money because the investors have already received a EU grant for 70 per cent of the project and then received a preferential price for 100 per cent of their investment, he explained.

Dobrev said that a total of 355 RES projects have been built on EU funding under a rural development programme and only 15-20 of them charged low prices for the electricity they produce. The others took advantage of the higher preferential rates.

Due to this double funding, the European Commission has opened an infringement procedure against Bulgaria.

Dobrev said that there are ideas for change which have the support of all parliamentary groups.

There are also ideas to broaden the scope of the 5 per cent contribution to the Energy System Security Fund so as to make it applicable not only to electricity producers but to system operators as well, including the Electricity System Operator and Bulgartransgaz. It has not yet been decided for sure that the operators will be included in the scope but this is the practice in some European countries, said Dobrev.

Asked whether the 5 per cent contribution will be recognized by the regulator as a cost component, Dobrev said that there are proposals in both directions and a decision will be made this coming Monday.

"In any case, the expected revenue of some 203 million leva from this charge will be minus the contribution by the two US-owned power plants, AES Maritza East 1 and Contour Global Maritza East 3, which by their contracts is payable by the National Electricity Company," Dobrev added.

The bill of amendments to the Energy Act is open for more proposals by Friday evening ahead of the conclusive vote by the parliamentary energy committee on Monday. It is due to go through in the plenary hall on Wednesday and be gazetted by next Friday, July 24. This will allow the regulator to make its decision on energy prices during the new pricing period from August 1, Dobrev explained.