site.btaSocialists Submit 200,000 Signatures to Energy Regulator to Stop CEZ Deal

Sofia, May 18 (BTA) - The parliamentary group of Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) for Bulgaria has submitted a subscription of 200,000 signatures at the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) collected over two months by a national civil initiative to stop the sale of CEZ, Deputy Floor Leader Zhelyo Boychev told journalists in Parliament Friday.

Czech energy group CEZ's announcement earlier in the year that it had decided to sell its Bulgarian electricity distribution business to an obscure local company, Pazardjik-based Inercom Bulgaria, triggered a political turmoil in this country. In mid-March Parliament set up an ad hoc committee to look into the details of the intended deal, including the origin of funding that the buyer would use. On May 17, Parliament adopted the ad hoc committee's report, which says that despite the committee's efforts, it failed to establish in what way the prospective buyer planned to finance the purchase of the CEZ assets.

The subscription signatures were submitted at the EWRC in relation to the fact that it has recently been authorized to agree to management of the property of energy companies, Boychev said. According to him, the recent revisions to the Energy Act are applicable to the CEZ deal, meaning that the transfer of ownership required for the deal to happen must be authorized by the EWRC.

The subscription was gathered across the country because it is a national one, Boychev specified. The only thing the BSP is doing is to defend the interests of Bulgarian citizens, he argued.

Later in the day, GERB MP Galya Vassileva told a briefing in Parliament that BSP Chair Kornelia Ninova has taken the liberty to lie to the Bulgarian citizens on a national media Friday morning. Ninova said the signatures were collected in regions where CEZ operates. GERB, however, showed photos of BSP representatives collecting signatures in locations where the Energo-Pro and EVN energy distribution companies operate.

Valentin Nikolov of GERB, who chairs the Sub-committee Supervising EWRC, said next week the committee will discuss the criteria under which the revisions to the Energy Act will be made in relation to the CEZ deal.