site.btaGovernment Establishes Energy Board

Sofia, August 27 (BTA) - At its weekly meeting on Wednesday the caretaker cabinet resolved to create an Energy Board as a permanent advisory body to the Council of Ministers in the solution of important issues of public significance in the area of energy, the government's information service said.

The Energy Board is created in implementation of the cabinet's priorities for continuing the reforms in the energy sector. The purpose of the new body is to increase the transparency, dialogue, and market efficiency in the sector with a view of overcoming the difficulties in the Bulgarian energy.

The Energy Board will conduct analyses of the state of play in the sector and identify the reasons causing instability in the energy system. It will also determine the principles and guidelines for the sustainable management of the sector, discuss and suggest measures to address identified problems, provide opinions vis-a-vis the actions and measures of the sate bodies and entities in energy. The Energy Board will make proposals for legal amendments and discuss and offer opinions on draft strategies in the sector.

The Energy Board will be chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economy policy. Deputy chair will be the Economy and Energy Minister. Members of the Board will be the deputy ministers of economy and energy, and of labour and social policy, the chairman of the State Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission, as well as one representative of the Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association, the Association of Hydropower Plants, the Bulgarian Wind Energy Association, the Bulgarian Energy Holding, the National Electricity Company, AES 3C Maritsa East 1, ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3, the Association of Thermal Power Plants in Bulgaria, the Association of Electricity Traders, the Bulgarian Oil and Gas Association, the Bulgarian Natural Gas Association, the Electricity System Operator, EVN Bulgaria, Energo-Pro Varna, CEZ Bulgaria, the Bulgarian National Consumer Association, the Bulgarian Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers, the Association of Banks in Bulgaria, the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Bulgarian Industrial Association, the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Mining and Geological Chamber, the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria, the Podkrepa Labour Confederation.

The Energy Board may also invited at its meetings representatives of other government bodies, institutions, international organizations, commercial entities, and experts.

The cabinet also adopted Rules of Organization of the Work of the Energy Board.

Speaking at a news conference after the cabinet's meeting, Deputy Prime Minister in charge of economic policy and Regional Development and Investment Planning Minister Ekaterina Zaharieva noted the "critical importance" of holding the first meeting of the Energy Board next week. The Energy Board must launch an urgent analysis of the reason for the current state of the sector, suggest principles and guidelines for its sustainable development, and identify measures for overcoming the imbalances in the system, Zaharieva said.

Prime Minister Georgi Bliznashki too spoke to reporters, saying that "a drastic increase in electricity prices is unacceptable for the government". Bliznashki urged the State Electricity and Water Regulatory Commission "to heed the Energy Board, as the Commission made too many errors in the past couple of years".

Economy and Energy Minister Vassil Shtonov for his part said that "the rumoured 50 per cent upmark of electricity prices will be achieved in the span of 5-10 years".

Speaking in a TV broadcast earlier on Wednesday, Shtonov said that as at the end of June, the obligations of the National Electricity Company (NEK) stood at 2,900 million leva and are expected to increase by at least 900 million leva until June 2015. If these are added to the current obligations, NEK's debt  will grow to nearly 4,000 million leva by next June.

Meanwhile, data published on the website of the Economy and Energy Ministry show that NEK has paid 53 per cent of the electricity received from producers in the first seven months of the year. The data show that NEK has been sinking into debt with ever larger amounts in the period under review. NEK's debt at the start of January totalled 885.8 million leva, and reached 1,129 million leva at the end of July.

The largest debt is to the power plants AES 3C Marista East 1, 288 million leva, and ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3, 216.4 million leva.
Prime Minister Georgi Bliznashki too spoke to reporters, saying
that "a drastic increase in electricity prices is unacceptable
for the government". Bliznashki urged the State Electricity and
Water Regulatory Commission "to heed the Energy Board, as the
Commission made too many errors in the past couple of years".

Economy and Energy Minister Vassil Shtonov for his part said
that "the rumoured 50 per cent upmark of electricity prices will
 be achieved in the span of 5-10 years".

Speaking in a TV broadcast earlier on Wednesday, Shtonov said
that as at the end of June, the obligations of the National
Electricity Company (NEK) stood at 2,900 million leva and are
expected to increase by at least 900 million leva until June
2015. If these are added to the current obligations, NEK's debt
 will grow to nearly 4,000 million leva by next June.

Meanwhile, data published on the website of the Economy and
Energy Ministry show that NEK has paid 53 per cent of the
electricity received from producers in the first seven months of
 the year. The data show that NEK has been sinking into debt
with ever larger amounts in the period under review. NEK's debt
at the start of January totalled 885.8 million leva, and reached
 1,129 million leva at the end of July.

The largest debt is to the power plants AES 3C Marista East 1,
288 million leva, and ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3, 216.4
million leva. SN /ZH/


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