site.btaGovernment Discusses Fuel Discount for Individuals

The government is considering a discount of BGN 0.25 per litre of petrol or diesel for individuals fuelling their cars at petrol stations, Deputy Energy Minister Plamen Danailov said on Nova TV Wednesday. The discount will be automatically applied after every refuelling of up to 50 litres and may be implemented as an anti-crisis measure as soon as June, said Danailov.

It will be available only for individuals and not for businesses.

Commenting the possible lifting of the excise duty on electricity, methane, and natural gas, the Deputy Minister stated that amending tax law must undergo a procedure of notification and approval through the European Commission (EC). "The documents for this type of notification have been drawn up. A timeframe of about three months for this procedure is an optimistic scenario," he said.

Danailov said that the ruling coalition is positive that the contemplated anti-crisis measures would pose no threat to the state budget.

Commenting an agreement that Prime Minister Kiril Petkov reached during a working visit to the US May 9-10 on liquefied natural gas (LNG) supplies to Bulgaria at prices below the ones of Russia's Gazprom, Danailov said that the agreement was the outcome of a talks started back in February. According to him, the price at which LNG will come from the US will depend on a number of conditions, including the means of transportation. "It is absolutely possible that the price [of gas from the US] be lower than Gazprom's because the latter is actually quite high," he said adding that gas delivered by pipeline gets significantly costlier when it travels for more than 4,000 km, making it potentially more expensive than LNG.

Danailov believes that the supplies from the US are more likely to continue in the long run, having in mind the agreement between US President Joe Biden and EC President Ursula von der Leyen. He expressed hope that the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector will be completed as planned - in June - and take care of this country's needs.

"We must aim to reduce the use of natural gas and increase the use of modern technologies," Danailov said adding that Bulgaria must turn into a hydrogen centre rather than a natural gas centre in the Balkans. "We have energy from renewable sources and plenty of water. This is the future."