Bulgaria is rethinking its energy priorities due to current circumstances. According to the Deputy Minister of Energy, Iva Petrova, a balance must be reached between the targets of the European Green Deal and ensuring the security of supply.
That’s why the government has not included the closure of the country’s coal mines in the national recovery plan. Instead, there is an obligation to reduce emissions from coal power plants by 40 per cent.
“In this way, we enable our lignite plants to operate until 2038 and there will be a ceiling for their carbon dioxide emissions after 1 January 2026,” the Deputy Minister said.
Especially in light of the recent announcement of Russia halting gas flows to Bulgaria and Poland, the government is mobilising significant resources to complete the Greece-Bulgaria interconnection, which is key to alternative natural gas supplies to the country and the region.
In synergy with this project, Mrs Petrova mentioned the construction of the liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal near Alexandroupolis, in which Bulgaria participates through its gas transmission system operator (TSO) Bulgartransgaz, as an additional opportunity to increase energy security.
“We are also communicating intensively with the neighbouring countries in order to negotiate joint deliveries of LNG through Turkey and Greece,” she added. “We are also exploring the possibility of supplying natural gas to and from Romania.”
The Minister of energy Alexander Nikolov has also reassured that the supply of natural gas in Bulgaria is guaranteed at the moment.
Referring to the letter sent by Gazprom demanding payments in rubles, Bulgaria agrees with Poland’s PGNiG position that the Russian company is in breach of the contract, as there it is stipulated that payments must be made in the US dollars or euros.
