site.btaInvestments Are Needed for Development of Bulgaria's Power Grid

Investments are needed for the development of the Bulgarian power grid, Electrohold Executive Director Karel Kral and Electrodistribution Grid South's Board of Directors Deputy Chair Zdravko Bratoev said during a roundtable on the modernization and digitalization of the Bulgarian grid infrastructure held in Sofia on Tuesday.

The problem with the energy grid is complex, Kral said. He argued that Bulgaria and the whole of Europe are facing an energy transformation. He said there are many technologies available and it is not true that grid operators do not want to implement them. The question is who will pay the bill in the end, he pointed out. Bulgaria currently has the lowest prices for network services in the whole European Union, Kral pointed out. He said this leads to a number of follow-up steps, such as less investment by network operators.

There are only two sources of funds for the development of the network - through the tariffs or through the various European funds, Kral added. Electrohold is ready to use the European funds, but the company has not yet signed a contract with the Ministry of Energy to use money from the Modernization Fund. 

Bratoev commented that although Electrodistribution Grid South has made investments of over BGN 2.2 billion in the distribution network over the last 19 years, this money is woefully insufficient to enable the network to meet the challenges it faces. Currently, less than a third of the company's distribution network has been upgraded with the investments already made, he pointed out.

More than a third of the hydro power plants are integrated in the network of Electrodistribution Grid South. However, its capacity is exhausted, Bratoev pointed out.