The Bulgarian Special Prosecutor’s Office received a motion from the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria regarding the record high price of electricity for industrial consumers.
Pursuant to the Judiciary Act, the supervising prosecutor personally requested documents and information from the Ministry of Energy, the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (IBEX) and other institutions in order to establish whether there is sufficient evidence of a general crime, in particular such within the competence of the Specialized Prosecutor’s Office. The supervising prosecutor also ordered the performance of separate actions for the inspection by the State Agency for National Security.
Last week, Bulgarian Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (KEVR) said that it has requested information from state-owned thermal power plant Maritsa East 2, electricity transmission system operator ESO and the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (IBEX) regarding the extremely high electricity prices on the Bulgarian spot market.
The regulator has launched a preliminary investigation due to a well-founded suspicion that there has been a violation of the Wholesale Electricity Market Integrity and Transparency Regulation (REMIT). As part of the initial investigation, information was requested from three energy companies. The aim is to assess the extent to which the non-participation of production capacities of TPP Maritsa East 2 affected the dynamics of wholesale electricity prices.
