site.btaPodkrepa Confederation of Labour Calls for Restriction of Electricity Export

A Podkrepa Confederation of Labour analysis, made by economic adviser Vanya Grigorova, forecasts that energy prices will continue to rise, and in turn push up cost of goods and services for end customers, Podkrepa said in a press release here on Monday. Under the circumstances, the only way to protect Bulgarian citizens is to limit electricity export and increase the role of local energy capacity, such as thermal power plants, the analyst said.

According to the analysis, the rise in energy prices, which began in 2021 due to international factors, would have had minimum impact on the people in Bulgaria if the country’s electricity market was not liberalized in mid-2021.

The analysis also notes that on March 19, Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Assen Vassilev said that, amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Bulgaria cannot hold talks with Gazprom to renew the agreement on natural gas supplies which expires shortly, and will be looking at alternative supplies, such as gas from Azerbaijan. However, the Azeri gas price would be higher than the Gazprom contract price, according to Vassilev and Energy Minister Alexander Nikolov.

The analysis also stresses that German Economy and Climate Minister and Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck has said that stopping Russian gas supplies will have a detrimental impact on poverty levels and industry in Germany but, unlike Bulgarian authorities, he did not wait for a pan-European decision and started looking for opportunities to import gas from the US, Norway, and Qatar. US representatives have already requested Qatar to replace Russia as supplier of gas to Europe, but Qatar has replied that it is impossible, the analysis says.