site.btaBulgaria Used to Supply Greece with Water from Arda River in Exchange of Electricity

Bulgaria has supplied water from the Arda River for irrigation of agricultural land in Greece in exchange for electricity supply under the terms of an interim commercial agreement, National Electricity Company (NEK EAD) CEO Martin Georgiev said during a hearing in the National Assembly.

"Pursuant to the negotiating position approved by the Council of Ministers, NEK has entered into a temporary consideration agreement in its role as the operator of the Arda River, carrying out the regulated water supply service with the regions of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace, which have been nominated by the Greek side as the counterparty to this agreement," Georgiev said.

The agreement was for the supply of regulated quantities of water during the remaining period after the expiration of the commitment under the reparation agreement in the last irrigation season of last year.

Georgiev added that the provision of the water service at regulated volumes was possible thanks to the functionality of the dam and Ivaylovgrad Dam facilities, which are the last stage of the Arda cascade and are about 4.5 km away from the Greek border. "This water supply is actually carried out by generating electricity from the dam, which is the main purpose of the dam and the Ivaylovgrad Hydroelectric Power Plant," he said.

"The regulated quantities of water supplied under the interim agreement and before that under the 1964 agreement cannot be used to satisfy Bulgaria's water needs in view of the location of the Ivaylovgrad Hydroelectric Power Plant and its close proximity to the Bulgarian-Greek border," Georgiev said.

Deputy Energy Minister Georgi Samandov explained that the energy coming from Greece under this interim agreement amounted to about 30,000 megawatt hours, which meets the needs of a medium-sized Bulgarian city in the busiest diapason for the electricity system for the day. He said this helps conserve water from NEK's capacity.

The deal is entirely in Bulgaria's interest, as evidenced by the increased volumes in the cascade with nearly 190 million cubic meters available, he said.

"I want to stress at the end of the heating season we are in that the water volumes stored in the dams operated by NEK are close to 70% of their capacity," Samandov added.

According to the information given, after the 1964 reparation agreement on water supply between Greece and Bulgaria expired in the middle of last year, NEK has signed a temporary commercial agreement to continue supplying water to Greece until September 30, 2024.