Kuyumdzhiev: BGN 1 billion per year and the state-owned thermal power plant will work!

BGN 1 billion per year – that’s how much the fines that Brussels will impose on Bulgaria would cost to keep the “Maritsa Iztok 2” state-owned thermal power plant operating. This was revealed to Iskra.bg by energy expert Yavor Kuyumdzhiev. According to him, it is the only possible option for our country to provide itself with the necessary amounts of electricity.

As Iskra.bg reported, there is a real risk that after the closure of coal-fired power plants, Bulgaria may face power outages, as even now our country relies on imports of electricity from neighboring countries. However, during the winter months, these countries are expected to stop exporting electricity in order to secure enough for their own domestic consumption. We could then find ourselves in a situation of electricity shortages.

The authorities are counting on the construction of the new 7th reactor of “Kozloduy” NPP to cover the needs of the population. However, Yavor Kuyumdzhiev was adamant to Iskra.bg that this could happen in 10-15 years at the earliest. The expert stressed that the closure of the coal-fired power plants cannot be postponed at all:

„There is absolutely no such possibility. That option was long ago missed! The Poles, since they don’t have a nuclear power plant and produce over 80% of their electricity from coal-fired plants, reached an agreement with Brussels to have an exception until 2049. So, this could have happened, but a long time ago. Now it’s absurd!“

In this sense, according to Kuyumdzhiev, the proposal introduced in the National Assembly on November 11 by „Vazrazhdane“ political party is populism. The proposal calls for the government to be obligated to start immediate negotiations with the European Commission to cancel the closure of Bulgaria’s coal-fired power plants. The energy expert reminded that a similar stance had already been adopted by the Bulgarian Parliament, but all the ministers who attempted such a course of action had failed.

Kuyumdzhiev stressed that there are three power plants left in the Maritsa basin, which produce about 2,500 megawatt hours of electricity, after the “Maritsa Iztok 3” power plant closed. At the same time, Bulgaria consumes 4,500-5,000 megawatt hours on average every 60 minutes.

„That is, we need to have about 5000 megawatts secured. If the nuclear plant is unavailable, as is the case now with the 6th reactor not operating, it is impossible without coal. The same applies to the evening hours when consumption spikes even more,“, the expert pointed out.

He is adamant that in order to avoid power outages, the only option is for the state-owned thermal power plant „Maritsa Iztok 2“ to continue operating at least until the 7th reactor at the “Kozloduy” Nuclear Power Plant is built. According to Kuyumdzhiev, the BGN 1 billion in annual fines should not, and will not be covered by households, as it is not expected that they will soon enter the free electricity market. He emphasized that the state must pay these fines. The big question, however, is where this money will come from, and whether it will once again be paid from the taxes of all Bulgarian citizens!

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