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The Bulgarian Regulator proposes increase of the reference and access to the grid price for RES

Bulgaria
31/05/2019
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In a recently released draft report, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC), Bulgaria's utility regulator, has proposed a substantial increase in the reference and access to the grid price for renewable energy, but will keep the Feed-in-Tariff (FiT) for small roof-top photovoltaic (PV) solar panels and for biomass.

The EWRC published its draft report on the FiT and on electricity prices for the period 1 July 2019 to 30 June 2020, and stated the following: the estimated reference price for main renewables (PV systems installed between 1 July 2011 and 30 June 2012) will be BGN 96.35 per MWh, up from the current price of BGN 79 per MWh.

For overseeing access to the grid, the EWRC will receive a substantial increase of BGN 5.12 per MWh.

This reference price is based on the additional quantities of electricity produced from renewable energy systems (RES) to be offered on the market during this period. An analysis of price levels in the months where solar energy creates higher quantities of electricity indicates that the cost of peak energy has been lowered significantly, leading to a reduction in prices for a base load.

As a result, the release of a large amount of RES electricity will potentially lead to large surpluses at certain times.

The draft's FiT for RES-produced electricity updates the tariff from biomass and sets premiums for RES electricity producers with a total installed capacity of 1 MW and over. Small RES producers, such as rooftop installations and biomass producers, will continue to enjoy supportive levels of FiT.

After the amendments to the May 2019 Energy Act, premiums for RES producers are to be set down in detail further to EWRC pricing decisions. All prices set down in the draft will go into effect on 1 July 2019. A public hearing on the draft will be held on 4 and 6 June, after which interested parties have 14 days to submit written statements.

The reports are available at:

  • http://www.dker.bg/uploads/_CGCalendar/2019/rep-tseni-electro-may2019.pdf
  • http://www.dker.bg/uploads/_CGCalendar/2019/res-pref-tseni-i-premii-VI-2019.pdf

For more information on this draft and the Bulgarian energy sector, feel free to contact one of our local CMS experts directly.

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