site.btaEnergy and Water Regulatory Commission Sanctions Kozloduy NPP EAD for Violation of REMIT Regulation

At a closed meeting held on April 16, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) adopted a decision imposing a pecuniary sanction in the amount of BGN 604,064 on Kozloduy NPP EAD for unauthorized use (trade) with internal information, said the EWRC on Monday.

The company was sanctioned for transactions concluded on October 31 and November 1,  2021, in violation of the prohibition established in Art. 3 of Regulation (EU) No. 1227/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on the integrity and transparency of the wholesale energy trading market (REMIT). This is the first sanction imposed by the regulator for violation of Art. 3 of the Regulation.

This is the fourth decision of the energy regulator to impose property sanctions on energy companies for abuses on the wholesale energy market, representing a violation of Art. 3 and/or Art. 5 of Regulation (EU) No. 1227/2011.

With a decision dated November 25, 2022, the Commission sanctioned NEK EAD and five other companies, imposing property sanctions in the total amount of BGN 1,258,419.

With another decision, taken on March 23, 2023, the EWRC imposed a property sanction in the amount of 165 BGN 238 to Energy Supply EOOD for prohibited manipulation of the market by layering orders and issuing false orders (spoofing).

A third decision of the EWRC to impose sanctions under Art. 5 of REMIT was adopted on November 14, 2023, against two companies, Most Energy AD and Kummer OOD, which were sanctioned a total of BGN 2,114,052 for market manipulation by sending misleading signals and/or determining prices at an artificial level.

The EWRC continues to work actively on other initiated proceedings to establish possible violations of the ban on wholesale energy market manipulation and/or insider trading. The EWRC's objective is to effectively prevent abuses by market participants who carry out manipulative transactions in the organized markets for trading wholesale energy products and/or extract illegal profits. In this way, the regulator ensures the proper functioning and transparency of the free wholesale energy market, as well as the formation of fair market prices for electricity and natural gas, the announcement said.