Industrial Energy Consumers Urge Postponement of New Natural Gas Rates

The Bulgarian Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers (BFIEC) have sent a letter to Prime Minister Boyko Borissov and Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev warning them of grave consequences from a contemplated change in the rates for transmission of natural gas from October 1, 2017. The letter, which was also sent to the news media, says that the matter has been discussed many times with the Energy Minister and the energy regulator but the position od the BFIEC has been ignored. “What was proposed is only a partial delay of the price increase and this is no solution”, the Federation says. BFIEC say that while they are not against the requirements for transposing the EU rules, they believe that this cannot be a goal per se and that the key principles for proportionality and nondiscrimination should continue to apply. “Considering the specifics on the Bulgarian energy market, we categorically call for postponing the proposed model until a realistic and comprehensive impact assessment is prepared with the participation of all stakeholders and the flaws are eliminated”, the Federation says. They tell the Prime Minister and his deputy that as these flaws impact the fundamental development, liberalization and functioning of the natural gas market, they might resort to “measures which are unusual for the industry and organize protests”.