The following is the full text of a letter from Association of Organizations of  the Bulgarian Employers (AOBE) urging the postponement of a market union at the Bulgarian-Greek border for the last quarter of 2021, when the market union between Bulgaria and Romania is expected.
The letter was sent to the Minister of Energy Temenujka Petkova, the Minister of Economy Lachezar Borisov, the Chairman of the EWRC Ivan Ivanov and the Executive Director of the Bulgarian Independent Energy Exchange EAD Konstantin Konstantinov.

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MRS. TEMENUJKA PETKOVA, MINISTER OF ENERGY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

Mr. LACHEZAR BORISOV, MINISTER OF ECONOMY OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA

Mr. IVAN IVANOV, CHAIRMAN OF THE ENERGY AND WATER REGULATORY COMMISSION 

MR. KONSTANTIN KONSTANTINOV, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF BULGARIAN INDEPENDENT ENERGY EXCHANGE EAD

SUBJECT: Insistence on postponing a market union on the Bulgarian-Greek border for the last quarter of 2021, when the market union between Bulgaria and Romania is expected

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,

Association of Organizations of  the Bulgarian Employers (AOBE) supports all efforts to create a transparent and competitive electricity market in Bulgaria. One of the main priorities of the Bulgarian Independent Energy Exchange EAD in recent years, for which the exchange operator receives the full support of trading participants, is the implementation of market mergers with neighboring market areas.

According to the latest publicly available information, the first market merger on the Day-Ahead market on the Bulgaria-Greece border is planned for mid-May 2021. It is important to note that the Italian and Greek markets with which we will merge are the most -the most expensive electricity markets throughout continental Europe. The planned unification will inevitably lead to the equalization of price levels in the direction of rising electricity prices on the free market in Bulgaria, despite the partial increase in competition in supply and demand.

For this reason, the Association of Bulgarian Employers’ Organizations calls for a review of the planned start date and its postponement for the last three months of 2021, when the market unification of the Bulgarian-Romanian border, which has the largest national importance for the Bulgarian energy and industry, as through it Bulgaria will have access to 6 other market areas with lower price levels than those on the Bulgarian electricity market.

Among our main motives for requesting this postponement are the many cumulative factors that affect upward electricity prices such as increased demand due to the exit of all business consumers, record high prices of CO2 allowances, planned annual repairs of Kozloduy NPP EAD, the forthcoming new price decision of the energy regulator from 01.07.2021, as well as the fact that we are the only market in the EU whose consumers pay a fixed surcharge for long-term contracts. Although the transmission capacity between Bulgaria and Greece will not increase after the market unification, in the forthcoming implicit distribution the trade exchange between the two countries will increase many times over, as so far it is used to a limited extent by the trade participants,

In this situation, AOBE is of the opinion that the national interest at the moment is to focus all efforts on the process of unification of the markets “Day-ahead” on the Bulgarian-Romanian border, which will actually lead to a serious increase in efficiency, liquidity and competition electricity market. Only after its implementation should the subsequent integration of the national market with that of Greece and Italy proceed. By adopting this sequence, possible market shocks and further increase in the wholesale price of electricity in Bulgaria will be avoided. We reiterate that our members support, in principle, the unification of the southern border, but it must be done in the best way and at the right time.

WITH RESPECT,

VASSIL VELEV, / P /

Chairman of the Board of

Association of Industrial

capital in BulgariaRADOSVET RADEV, / P /

Chairman of the Board of

Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce 

TSVETAN SIMEONOV, / P /

Chairman of the Board of

Bulgarian trade and industry

chamber 

KIRIL DOMUSCHIEV, / P /

Chairman of the Board of

Confederation of Employers and

the industrialists in Bulgaria                                VASSIL VELEV,

                                CHAIRMAN OF AOBE FOR 2021