site.bta European Commission Tests Commitments by Bulgarian Energy Holding concerning Domestic Electricity Market

European Commission Tests Commitments by Bulgarian Energy Holding concerning Domestic Electricity Market

Brussels, June 19 (BTA correspondent Nikolay Jeliazkov) - The
European Commission said on Friday it is inviting comments from
interested parties on commitments offered by the state-owned
Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) to address competition concerns
about BEH's behaviour on the non-regulated wholesale electricity
market in Bulgaria.

The Commission has expressed concerns that BEH, the incumbent
vertical energy company, has been preventing competition on the
non-regulated wholesale electricity market in Bulgaria. In
particular, BEH may be hindering the resale of electricity by
imposing territorial restrictions on traders, in breach of EU
antitrust rules.

To address the Commission's concerns, BEH has offered to set up
an independent power exchange in Bulgaria and to ensure the
liquidity of the day-ahead market on that exchange. If the
market test confirms that the commitments are suitable to
address the Commission's competition concerns, the Commission
may make the commitments legally binding on BEH.