The costly production of Maritsa Iztok 2 TPP may raise the price of electricity prematurely

The price of electricity for household consumers may be raised ahead of schedule, as more from the expensive energy produced at the Maritsa East 2 TPP will enter the national mix. End suppliers have declared drastically higher quantities of electricity than those approved by the Energy Regulatory Commission on July 1, 2024, according to Acting Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov who spoke in the parliament on Thursday.

The forecasts of the National Electricity Company (NEK) show a shortage of at least 570 thousand MWh, which could reach 927 thousand MWh by July 1, 2025.

And this is a drastic increase compared to the regulator's pricing decision," Malinov said.

Coal-fired power plants will supply 527 thousand megawatt hours, the price of which is about 275 leva each. For comparison, the price established by the energy regulator (DKER) for households is 127 leva. More energy will also come from the Kozloduy NPP, which will provide 400 thousand MWh at a price of 65.47 leva/MWh, which will somewhat mitigate the price increase for consumers, Malinov explained.

The minister added that the emission quota allocated to the TPP for the regulated market is expected to be used up earlier.

The decision on whether there will be an increase lies with the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (DKER), which has the right to change the approved electricity prices during the pricing period, but not more than once per year.

In response to MP Pavela Mitova, the energy minister commented that he did not share her opinion that the jump would be between 10-20%. But he did not clarify his opinion on the matter.

Translated by Tzvetozar Vincent Iolov