site.btaEmployers, Trade Unions Postpone Protest Over Compensation for High Electricity Prices

Employers and trade unions are postponing a protest scheduled for January 15 over compensation for high electricity prices, said here Monday Vasil Velev, Chairman of the Board of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association (BICA), which chairs in 2025 the Association of the Organizations of the Bulgarian Employers.

The general protest readiness of the social partners for January 15 was announced at a press conference on January 9. 

Compensations for high electricity prices for non-household consumers were introduced in 2021 as a business protection measure. Initially, their size was set on a monthly basis. A cap was enforced in 2022, originally at BGN 250/MWh, to be lowered to BGN 200/MWh in 2023 and BGN 180/MWh in 2024.

The employers' organizations insist that the compensation threshold of BGN 180/MWh be maintained for all non-domestic consumers, including kindergartens, schools, hospitals, temples, museums, etc. According to BICA, the total number of non-domestic consumers exceeds 600,000. 

Caretaker Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov said last week that along with the December 2024 compensation project, the ministry has also prepared a project to extend the programme into the first quarter of 2025. But both projects are tied to the work of lawmakers in the 51st National Assembly and when they will finally vote on an extension bill by the end of March 2025. The bill, which has been proposed to the Council of Ministers for a vote, stipulates that in the event of a shortfall in the Electricity System Security Fund (the programme to compensate businesses for high electricity prices is financed from the Electricity System Security Fund), the state budget is to cover the shortfall in the fund. 

The compensations paid to the business (without the envisaged update of the programme for December) under the programme in 2024 amount to BGN 543.349 million.