Radoslav Ribarski: The delayed liberalization of electricity does not solve the problems

The National Assembly will discuss in the second reading today the changes in the Energy Act, which are postponed the liberalization of the wholesale electricity market by year. Thus, the large-scale reform in the sector is expected to be delayed until July 1, 2025. The Deputy Chairman of the Parliamentary Energy Committee and MP from PP-DB Radoslav Ribarski defined the recent actions of the majority in the National Assembly as a pre-election move and warned that the postponement does not solve the problems.

“The period in which people will have to understand what a free, liberalized market is will be extremely short, on the order of 6 months (…) A reform is being postponed before the election, which does not solve any problem, it would even deepen the problems of every consumer after a year the situation.”

In response to a question about what the delayed energy reform is costing us, Rybarski explained that these are missed investments, especially in the Staro Zagora region. At the same time, Bulgaria is losing competitiveness compared to neighboring countries with already approved payments under the Territorial Plans and Recovery and Sustainability Plans. He emphasized:

“It is difficult to attract large investors. The missed benefits are yet to be felt, because Romania and Greece are making the most of it, and this regionally puts Bulgaria in a more unenviable situation“.

Today, the MPs will also discuss a draft decision to support the updated Climate Neutrality Roadmap proposed by the Council of Ministers, which “really does not close mines and leaks”, was understood from Ribarski’s words. The document is mandatory out of a total of 4 acts for the receipt of the delayed second tranche under the PVA, for which the country expects about 700 million euros.

On the occasion of the protests of workers in the “Maritsa-East” complex, the MP from PP-DB called for a more sustainable model, similar to the heating companies.

The guest also announced the forthcoming public meeting in Stara Zagora with the two co-chairmen of “We Continue the Change” Kiril Petkov and Asen Vassilev, as well as with Academician Nikolay Denkov this Saturday, April 27, at 5:30 p.m. in the “Zachary Knyazheski” Regional Library.

Listen to the entire interview with Radoslav Ribarski in the audio file.

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