Prime Minister Galab Donev: Main priority: to save Bulgaria’s leading role as a net exporter of electricity and balancer for the region

Prime Minister Galab Donev: Main priority: to save Bulgaria's leading role as a net exporter of electricity and balancer for the region

17.01.2023

To guarantee the energy and national security and to save Bulgaria's leading role as a net exporter of electricity and balancer for the region is what Prime Minister Galab Donev defined as a priority that dominates the strategy of Bulgaria's energy sector development in the next 30 years as worked out by the Caretaker Government. The provisional Strategy Vision for the Development of Bulgaria's Electricity Sector over the Period 2023-2053 was presented at a round table organized by the Ministry of Energy.

"In the midst of an energy crisis Bulgaria does not have an approved strategy for the development of the energy sector. Without a strategic document that sets clearly defined goals for the development of the sector, any government will resemble a man in a dark room who looks for the light switch ", Prime Minister Galab Donev said. Further, he recalled that the course of the development of the energy sector of Bulgaria is clearly set forth in the Energy Act. The Prime Minister emphasized the principal objectives of the Act, namely, to create conditions for: high-quality and secure supply of electricity, heat and natural gas to the households and businesses; energy development and energy security of the country through efficient use of energy and energy resources; creation and development of a competitive and financially stable energy market; energy deliveries at minimum costs. "The real question is: How are these objectives to be achieved in the context of a global energy crisis, a complicated geopolitical situation and the EU's aspiration to decarbonize the economy? That is why the Vision is not just needed, it is a must," the Prime Minister stressed.

In addition, Prime Minister Galab Donev recalled that a decision of the National Assembly made it binding on the Caretaker Government to renegotiate the energy sector component within the National Recovery and Resilience Plan (RRP) by 31 March 2023. In the understanding of the Prime Minister, such renegotiation of the RRP would be unthinkable without a strategic vision about the development of the electricity sector for the next 30 years at least. "The Vision reflects the national specifics in the field of energy resources and common European policies and the goals for energy development in the light of the European Green Deal," Prime Minister Galab Donev said.

In his statement, the Prime Minister specially recognized the Energy Ministry's efforts in recent months to analyze the condition of the energy sector and to work out the strategy.