It is extremely important that electricity distribution companies are financially stable. This was said by the executive director and member of the Management Board of “Energo-Pro”, Angela Toneva, during a round table on the topic “Electricity networks and network services – challenges to the energy transition and market liberalization”, organized by the Institute for Energy Management. She pointed out that there are more than 100 broken pillars from the recent hurricane winds in Northeast Bulgaria, and if the company did not have enough funds, it would not have dealt with this situation so quickly. According to Toneva, electricity distribution companies must have sufficient financial resources for network development, BTA points out.
“Energo-Pro” generally supports the recent changes in the Law on Renewable Sources and the Law on Energy, although there are certain problems in both laws, Toneva added. Regarding the Law on Renewable Sources, she pointed out that the changes came into force immediately and the company did not have time to adapt to them. Toneva hopes that in the future the contradictions and difficulties in this law will be overcome. The main issue in the Energy Law is whether there will be enough working capital for the electricity distribution companies after household consumers move to the liberalized market.
The CEO of “Electrohold Bulgaria” Karel Kral added that the development of the networks is the basis of the energy transformation. There is a study that energy consumption will grow, therefore the capacity of the networks should be increased, he believes.
It is clear that it needs to be financed, but the question is from where, commented Kral. Financing can be done in two ways – from consumers through the final prices or using funds from European funds. In Bulgaria, the network services are the cheapest in the entire European Union, Kral added and added that the networks cannot develop that way. He gave as an example that in the Czech Republic the prices of network services have increased by 71 percent in the last year alone. “The direction is for the prices of network services to increase, because investment must be made,” Kral pointed out. European funds are a very important part at the moment, but they cannot be the only source of funding.
The Vice-Chairman of the Board of Directors of “EVN Bulgaria” Kalina Trifonova stated that the investment in the networks is a key moment, because they are the backbone and the basis for the entire transformation to green energy to be carried out. According to her, there is a huge imbalance in terms of promoting green energy production and incentives for grid development.
“Regarding the legislation, we have recently been witnessing the rapid adoption of legislative changes”, added Trifonova. She drew attention to the fact that after being adopted in the Energy Committee, the texts were changed again during the vote in the plenary hall. “We don’t know what will come out in the law until it is published in the State Gazette,” commented Trifonova. According to her, there should be greater transparency of legislative changes, as well as equality between all participants in this process.
