Bulgaria's Energy Watchdog to Decide on Power Prices by Friday

Energy regulator KEVR's head Ivan Ivanov has said the watchdog is to decide by Friday whether or not to postpone a much disputed electricity price hike.

The KEVR (Commission for Water and Energy Regulation) is under pressure from the government and businesses to put off a 13-20% increase in prices for industrial consumers as of July 1.

All major business organizations have warned they will begin strike action on June 26, halting production activity for an hour every day if the watchdog doesn't change its mind. They demand that prices should go up before the end of this year.

Bulgaria's government also joined on Sunday businesses' calls that an alternative solution should be found, with Deputy PM Tomislav Donchev openly opposing a hike and PM Boyko Borisov vowing to join protests if KEVR goes on with the measures.

For weeks KEVR had insisted the step is inevitable if imbalances in the energy system are to be tackled.

Ivanov warned on Monday that if the cabinet wants to avoid the price hike, it should find on its own a way to make up for the imbalances.

In 2013, the first government of Boyko Borisov stepped down amid nationwide protests over high electricity bills which then affected household consumers.

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