Bulgaria Govt with New Scenario for Energy Holding Future

The Bulgarian Energy Holding was created in 2008 with the merger of five state-owned companies into a EUR 4 B energy giant. Photo by BGNES

Bulgaria's government is considering yet another scenario how to restructure the energy holding, which groups the country's top energy assets, a member of the ruling party has announced.

"Bulgaria's government and the European Commission are discussing two final options for the holding restructuring, which envisage the inclusion of Maritza Iztok 2 Thermal Plant, and the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant back into the National Electricity Company NEK," Valentin Nikolov, MP from the ruling GERB party and member of the parliamentary commission for economy and energy, told journalists on Thursday.

According to Nikolov this restructuring would provide a solution to what he called “the current absurd situation”, which sets against one another NEK and the nuclear power plant Kozloduy as rivals on the international electricity market.

Bulgarian Energy Holding, which groups the country's top energy assets, was set up in 2008 by the previous Socialist-led government in a bid to strengthen the country's position on the European power market and manage major energy projects Bulgaria has committed to, including Belene nuclear power plant, Nabucco and the South Stream gas pipelines.

The holding was created with the merger of five state-owned companies - the National Electricity Company NEK, the gas monopoly Bulgargaz, the Maritza Iztok Mines, the Maritza Iztok 2 Thermal Plant, and the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant into a EUR 4 B energy giant.

It is a sole owner joint-stock company with a 100% Bulgarian state ownership.

The new center-right government of GERB party, which swept the July general elections last year, subjected the Bulgarian Energy Holding to financial checks to find out how the money poured into it for raising its capital has been used.

At the end of August last year it announced plans to dissolve the mega-structure only to abandon them a few months later after cost reductions helped it cut its budget deficit.

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