EVN asks Bulgarian regulator for electricity price formula review
Austrian utility EVN, whose Bulgarian subsidiary provides electricity distribution services to the south and southeast of the country, said on March 19 that it has asked the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) for a review of the formula used to calculate electricity prices, specifically the cost of renewable energy.
EVN said that its request covered only the immediate short-term period – the three months from April through end-June – and said that a review did not have to result in higher prices for consumers, rather focusing on a revamp of the prices charged along the supply line.
The existing formula puts most of the financial strain to offset the high prices paid to renewable energy producers on electricity distribution firms – EVN said that it lost 100 million leva to cover renewables-related costs since July 2012.
In the second quarter of this year, the company estimated such losses at a further 40 million leva, potentially rising to 78 million leva if the Supreme Administrative Court ruled to cancel the power grid connection fees charged on renewable energy producers, introduced by Bulgaria in September 2012.
“If no measures are taken to rectify this problem, the company will fall into the situation where it is unable to meet its commitments and the security of electricity delivery will be at risk,” EVN said.
The company said that it supported the idea of setting up a special fund to cover renewable energy costs – company officials suggested earlier this year that the fund could pool the resources from the renewable energy producers grid access fees, as well as revenue from carbon emission quota sales – and asked Bulgaria’s caretaker Cabinet to begin work on a legislative bill that next Parliament could consider.
(Photo: Clive Leviev-Sawyer)
