The amendments to the Energy Law will allow an additional 12.2 TWh of electricity per year to be traded on the free market, which in the current pricing decision forms the energy mix for the regulated market, according to the Chair of the Bulgarian Commission for Energy and Water Regulation, Ivan Ivanov.
This follows from the removal of the role of the National Electricity Company (NEK) as a public supplier and the obligation of the final suppliers to purchase the necessary quantities of energy from the Bulgarian Independent Energy Exchange, IBEX.
The new European legislation provides for the extension of the functions of the Organization of European Energy Regulators (ACER) to jointly investigate with national regulators cases of abuse in cross-border electricity trading. This process will be strengthened with the development of a unified European wholesale electricity market. The development of such a market implies a significant increase in cross-border interconnection capacities.
European legislation requires connectivity to be at least 15% of the installed capacity in the country concerned. For Bulgaria, this capacity is currently 13,500 MW, while cross-border connectivity with Romania is 2,300 MW and 1,500 MW with Greece.
