The ‘American’ TPPs – Important Investors or Public Enemy

AES Galabovo (ME1) and ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 (ME3) have been the subject of increased media attacks since the beginning of 2020. A month earlier - in December 2019, the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria /AICB / initiated a petition against the so-called "American" TPPs. If you google ''AICB'', "American TPPs" and "2019" on the Internet, you will find that last year's references alone were 4,300 times, and the overall result is more than 37,000 times. The claims of this organisation were backed by some of the nationally represented employers' structures and widely covered by the media. This was commented by economist Krassen Stanchev in an analysis for Trud Daily.

We publish the main highlights from the expert's position of the role of so-called American TPPs - AES Galabovo TPP and ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 TPP - for the energy sector and the economy of Bulgaria, for the huge investments that have made them the most modern and ecological capacities not only in Bulgaria but also on the Balkans, as well as for the permanent pressure that their investors have been subjected to by politicians and employers' organizations for years.

Even the headlines show that there is an evolution in the messages. The only permanent thing is the subject matter, the referred TPPs dubbed enemies.

The evolution of the arguments against

The employers' organization that back up the AICB point out that

(a) these two power plants are not being 'burned' by the high electricity prices (like everyone else's) and

b) at such high prices, more investment should not be expected.

However, there is no comparison between the 'savings' from the eventual termination of the agreements with ME1 and ME3...