Bulgarian Business Associations Oppose Upcoming Power Price Hike

Three employers’ associations have risen against an upcoming increase in electricity prices from July, warning that they will demand the resignations of the Energy Minister and the Chair of the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (KEVR) if the voice of the business sector remains unheard.

The Confederation of Employers and industrialists in Bulgaria (CEIBG), the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA), and the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA) insist in an open letter to Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, to trade unions, and to Parliament that Bulgaria should apply EU policies and best practices in the sector.

The three associations say that they will seek the resignations of both Energy Minister Temenuzhka Petkova and of Ivan Ivanov, Chair of the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (KEVR) over the lack of reforms in the energy sector and the attempts to make businesses shoulder the burden of imbalances.

The CEIBG, the BIA, and the BICA warn that they will address the prosecuting authority, demanding inspections into the signing of the long-term power purchase agreements, the legality of preferential tariff for the purchase of electricity from renewable sources, and the high-efficiency of the output of cogeneration plants.

The three associations oppose an increase in electricity prices by 13-20% for the majority of active enterprises in Bulgaria and a power price hike of 4-13% for the largest energy-intensive plants as of July 1.

They demand an urgent meeting with Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov, stressing that the issue is essential to Bulgaria’s industry and economy.

The letter is backed by the Bulgarian Association of the Metallurgical Industry, the Bulgarian Chamber of Chemical Industry, the Bulgarian Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers, the Bulgarian Branch Chamber of Machine Building, and the Bulgarian Association of Electrical Engineering and Electronics.

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