2024-09-19 10:26:37
According to businesses, the delay in compensating for expensive electricity in 2021-2022 contributed to uncorking inflation then.
From Thursday, the “Security of the Electricity System” fund will begin paying compensation to businesses and other business users for expensive electricity. The mechanism envisages that non-household consumers will receive 100% of the difference between the threshold of BGN 180 per megawatt hour and the price of electricity on the exchange. The measure is in effect from July 1 until the end of 2024. This was announced by the Minister of Energy Vladimir Malinov in the Council of Ministers.
The total amount that the compensation fund will pay is BGN 541 million, he added.
The good news is that
has been received
notification
from Brussels
for these compensations. The opinion of the European Commission is that the measure is similar to that of 2021 and other years, is permissible and is needed on the market.
The program was submitted to the European Commission on August 9, but the opinion was delayed. Brussels approved it after the parliament decided to include transmission and distribution companies in it. The amendment to the program took place at a government meeting on Wednesday, and it is that businesses and other non-domestic consumers, who will receive compensation for high electricity prices,
are added and
ESO, and the ERPs
This happened after a decision of the parliament, which obliged the government to update the program with the inclusion of these companies. With the addition of the operators to those entitled to compensation, equality of all is achieved and this is the reason for the approval by the EC.
Following the reactions of employers’ organizations against the delay in compensations, an extraordinary meeting of the Energy Committee was convened in Parliament on 3 September. On it, employers said that such a delay in 2022-2023 acted as something that then sent inflation out of control.
Vasil Velev, chairman of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria, even called for advance payment before the approval from Brussels, since the electricity invoices for July have already been received, and those for August will come soon.
The Chairman of the Energy Commission, Delyan Dobrev, insisted on the very next day – Wednesday, that the government update the compensation program. This happened on September 18.
After the approval of Brussels and the update of the program on Wednesday, Minister Malinov stated that the high wholesale electricity prices
not local
and regional
problem
– affect Greece, Bulgaria, Romania, reaching Hungary. T
oy has held a meeting with his colleagues from Greece and Romania to insist on a common protection mechanism for businesses in the three countries from expensive electricity, which has a bad impact on competitiveness. Compensation is only the first measure, he believes.
The “Security of the Electricity System” fund stated that they are ready to pay the business. The initial estimates indicated that the compensation would be 245 million BGN, later it became 495 million, and on Wednesday the minister announced the amount of 541 million BGN.
The money comes entirely from the energy sector and the budget is not included in the compensations, Malinov also said.
The funds are provided by the targeted contributions from electricity producers collected in the fund.
l Brussels
approve
the compensations
l The higher ones
prices of
electricity
affect more
Greece,
Romania
and Hungary