site.btaEnergy Regulator Chief: Bulgaria Found Alternative Deliveries of Natural Gas within Week

Energy and Water Regulatory Commission Chair Stanislav Todorov said that it was a feat that Bulgaria managed to find alternative deliveries of natural gas within a week after Gazprom cut off deliveries to the country.  

Todorov spoke during an extraordinary plenary sitting in Parliament regarding the discontinuation of Russian gas supplies to Bulgaria, requested by the opposition party GERB-UDF. 

Todorov insisted that from now on Bulgargaz should start announcing open public tenders under clear rules and procedures. In parallel, the government needs to start working on concluding long-term contracts with more than one supplier, which Todorov believes is happening. He said that in the context of a global war, Russia is using natural gas deliveries as its strongest weapon to fulfill its political goals. According to him, Bulgaria cannot remain a victim in this war. 

He noted that Bulgaria's national interest dictates that this country has several suppliers with long-term contracts, in order to be independent of the political goals of any of them. 

Another important topic related to natural gas deliveries is capacity. Todorov said that all transmission facilities have the capacity to be open to all suppliers. In his words: "Whoever holds the capacity [...] determines the type, amount and price of the gas flowing into Bulgaria". It is not a coincidence that Gazprom has occupied a major part of the capacities of Bulgaria, Serbia and Hungary, he said. Todorov added that Bulgaria should take immediate measures to free up its capacity so that all traders and suppliers who want to supply natural gas to Bulgaria have the chance to do so at the lowest price possible.

He proposed two courses of action concerning Bulgaria's energy sector - the first one is to oblige electricity providers to offer long-term contracts to the business and general consumers, and the second one is to liberalize the natural gas market, so that all traders and suppliers have access to it.

Todorov believes it is important to implement these policies in May, so that this country is ready for the autumn season.