The MPs of GERB-UDF, the largest group in Parliament, call on President Rumen Radev to convene a meeting of the Consultative Council on National Security over the commitments in the National Recovery and Resilience Plan. "The commitments threaten the energy security of this country," Delyan Dobrev MP said as he read out a declaration by his group in the plenary on Thursday.
GERB claim that honouring these commitments will cause the national economy to shrink by 4%.
They also say that to implement the Recovery Plan, Bulgaria will have to close 76.2% of its coal-fired power plants.
"If we apply the usual growth of electricity consumption of some 3% for next year, it would mean that by 2025 Bulgaria would become a net importer of electricity - if there is somewhere to import from because all our neighbours have been experiencing a chronic shortage of electricity for decades," Dobrev said.
He also said that Bulgaria has exported electricity worth EUR 3.2 billion in 2022 and this is roughly the amount that it would lose "as a result of implementing page 113 of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan". "The foreign trade balance would worsen by the same hefty amount," he added.
On Page 113 of the Plan is Reform 10: Decarbonization of the energy sector. Here is what it says:
The decarbonization of the energy sector will focus on reducing carbon emissions from electricity generation by 40% taking baseline 2019 levels. The emissions reduction target should be achieved in 2025 (measured and confirmed with 2026 data) and will be reinforced by updating the national legislation in the Climate Change Mitigation Act, which will also establish a clear plan to phase out coal-fired power plants by 2038 and will have a regulatory cap on their carbon dioxide emissions applicable from January 1, 2026. The law will also provide for measures in relation to socio-economic consequences, which will be financed and consistent with the measures foreseen under the Just Transition Fund.
Carbon dioxide emission reduction will apply to the coal-fired power plants: TPP Maritsa 3 EAD, TPP Maritsa East 2 EAD, TPP Bobov Dol EAD, AES-3C Maritsa Iztok 1, TPP Contour Global Maritsa Iztok 3, TPP BRICKEL EAD, TPP Republic, TPP Ruse Iztok and Toplofikatsia Sliven.
The accomplishment of the decarbonization goals will also take account of the overall environmental performance of the above installations in terms of atmospheric emissions of dust and sulphur dioxide, as well as the compliance with the EU ambient air quality standards in all air quality indicator zones where the installations are located.
These targets will have to be achieved by June 30, 2026 and will be integrated into the Climate Change Mitigation Act.
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