site.btaSocialists Alert Prosecutor General about Energy Regulator Chief's Refusal to Concern Himself with CEZ Deal

Sofia, June 28 (BTA) - The opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) on Thursday alerted Prosecutor General Sotir Tsatsarov about Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) Chairman Ivan Ivanov's refusal to concern himself with the sale of the Bulgarian assets of Czech energy group CEZ. On Friday, the BSP will also make a formal proposal to the National Assembly to remove Ivanov from office, party leader Kornelia Ninova said.

Ivanov expressed his refusal to comment on the CEZ deal in a statement in the National Assembly, where he was presenting the EWRC's annual report for 2017.

The prospective deal between Czech energy giant CEZ and the obscure Pazardjik-based Inercom caused major turmoil earlier in the year. The government initially said it wanted to be part of the deal so as to secure smooth operation after the transition of ownership but then gave up the idea. In mid-March, Parliament set up an ad hoc committee to look into the details of the intended purchase, including the source of the money that the buyer would use, but failed to find out much more than was already known. At the end of the committee's term, its chair Zhelyu Boichev (BSP) said it "remained unclear how a company of such [small] scale and volume of assets can acquire such a strategic business."

During Thursday's sitting of the National Assembly, BSP leader Ninova said recent legislative amendments require the EWRC to exercise control over such deals as the sale of the CEZ assets in Bulgaria. She demanded to know what the EWRC is going to do about her party's petition, supported by 200,000 signatures of members of the public calling for the invalidation of the deal between CEZ and Inercom.

Ivanov said the CEZ case will be in the EWRC's annual report for 2018. Regarding the Socialists' petition, he said: "Bulgarian law says that a sign-in campaign should be reckoned with when it is about holding a referendum. The EWRC strictly abides by Bulgarian laws. If you want such a sign-in campaign to be taken into consideration, you should submit a proposal."

Ivanov further argued that the new legislative amendment referred to by Ninova is actually "a blanket provision" which does not set any criteria by which the EWRC should state its position on cases like the CEZ deal.

Dragomir Stoynev (BSP) warned the EWRC against trying to evade responsibility. "The amendments to the law were approved by all MPs," Stoynev recalled. He said that if the EWRC believe something is missing in the law, they should tell the National Assembly so.

"If you want the EWRC to state their view [on the CEZ deal], you should propose changes to the law and suggest criteria," Delyan Dobrev (GERB) said.

Then, Ninova fumed: "Don't you see how the last remaining foundations of statehood and Bulgaria are being destroyed and where this country is heading, where our Parliament is heading?! Parliamentarism was slapped on the face today as the ruling majority questioned their own law and a state body told the MPs: We will not apply your law because it is bad."

According to Ninova, the law specifies that the EWRC should oversee deals in which more than 20 per cent of the assets are sold, or which affect national security or the public interests. She accused EWRC Chairman Ivanov of "trying again to cover up the whole deal, Ginka Vurbakova, her patrons, the government, Boyko Borissov, everyone involved in the deal." If it is necessary to make some legal provisions more concrete, this can be done by an instrument of secondary legislation, the Socialist leader suggested.

The National Assembly voted 102-48, with 4 abstentions, to adopt the EWRC's annual report for 2017. Ivanov told the lawmakers that the regulator has substantially improved its communication with energy and water service users.

The report says the regulator did not allow any major price changes in 2017. Over the last three years, electricity prices on the regulated market rose by 2.5 per cent. Discussing the water and sewerage sector, Ivanov said the five-year business plans of most operators were adopted. Each plan stipulates investments to ensure water quality, he said.

Valentin Nikolov (GERB) said the report shows that the EWRC "sets standards of work and harmony." "The sector has been calmed down, there is predictability and a balanced policy in the sector," Nikolov said.

Ramadan Atalai (Movement for Rights and Freedoms) said: "The energy populists harm everyone." He urged the EWRC to resist pressure from businesses, noting that "businesses are much more arrogant than ordinary clients." Atalai also called on the regulator to ensure balance on the energy market without decapitalizing electricity producers. He congratulated the EWRC on its efforts to be an independent and balancing regulator.

The BSP asked what actions the EWRC has taken with respect to vulnerable social groups. Tasko Ermenkov urged the regulator to pay attention to the social factor.