Bulgarian Taxpayers Shell 1 B for Illegal Electricity Export

Illegal electricity export to neighboring Balkan countries has inflicted huge losses for Bulgaria, file photo.

Bulgarian taxpayers have been cheated of at least BGN 1 B as their money was used to pay for illegal export of electric power.

According to an investigative report of TV7, 12 806 244 thousand of megawatt hours of electricity have been exported between 2008 and 2013 to neighboring Macedonia, Serbia, Greece, Turkey, and Romania on grounds this volume has been a surplus.

Under bilateral agreements with energy operators in the other Balkan countries, Bulgaria's National Electric Company, NEK, through the Energy System Operator, ESO, has redirected the electric power outside Bulgaria's borders.

Under the same agreements, Bulgaria was to be reimbursed only with the same amount of electricity to be returned back to it, and without any monetary transactions.

The investigative report, however, uncovered that the returned energy had been 12 times less than what has been exported, thus inflicting huge losses for the taxpayers.

Chief ESO Dispatcher, Mitio Hristozov, rejected all attempts of the investigative journalist, who approached him in person, to offer explanations, insisting the questions must be sent in writing to the company's press office.

Recently, the leader of the Confederation of Labor Podkrepa (Support), Konstantin Trenchev, hinted he had tipoffs for corruption and shady deals in ESO, threatening he would log them with the Prosecutor's Office.

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