site.btaIndustrial Energy Users Want Compensations, Secure, Predictably Priced Long-Term Natgas Supplies

Bulgarian Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers (BFIEC) Executive Director Ivaylo Naydenov told BTA that, currently, the only mechanism keeping the industrial energy consumers up and running against the backdrop of the high energy prices is the compensation for the electricity price, but it is in force until the end of 2022. Businesses have been promised compensation for the gas price since April. The Economy Ministry has a working group that collects proposals for what measures to introduce from all interested parties, but the business industry needs to see something real – what scheme will be developed, where will the financing come from, and to which enterprises it will apply, Naydenov said.

In addition to compensation, the business industry demands long-term supplies of natural gas at a predictable price to be secured. "We are counting on rapid resolution to the problem of supply. We can no longer talk about cheaper gas from Europe, but at least it should be at a predictable price," Naydenov stated, adding that industrialists cannot do production planning in the dark. BFIEC's third demand is extension of the compensation for electricity price for as long as possible, he said.

In Naydenov's words, in the last months of unreliable energy supply, some large industrial energy consumers have reduced their natural gas consumption and production, respectively. Others, who could index their end-product prices, have already raised prices, but that is an option up to a point, he explained.

Some of the companies are looking for alternative fuels, although this option is limited in heavy industry. They need to build new installations and to renew complex permits. The shortest period for which such installations can be built is 6 to 8 months, and in some cases it takes up to two years – in other words this is not a momentary solution, Naydenov told BTA.

Currently, the business industry expects the state-owned natural gas supplier Bulgargaz to offer new supply terms for the enterprises for 2023. In his words, it is clear for the companies that most possible ways of getting out of the crisis require a functioning National Assembly.