National Electric Company

Dimitar Angelov, CEO of Bulgaria's Kozloduy nuclear power plant, has complained that the N-plant lost long-term contracts for the sale of electricity as a result of the postponement of the new regulatory period.

Over 1000 large companies in Bulgaria are stopping work or switching to reduced capacity for an hour on Friday to protest an anticipated 13-20% increase in power rates for the industry.

Bulgaria's parliamentary commission in charge of monitoring the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (KEVR) is holding an emergency meeting in an attempt to postpone a planned power price hike from July 1.

Czech company Energo-Pro, which supplies electricity to northeastern Bulgaria, has filed an arbitration claim against Bulgaria at the World Bank's International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The arbitration claim was filed on May 26, 2015.

The ICSID has not yet designated a panel of arbitrators to handle the claim.

Bulgaria's state-owned power utility will close the year at a loss of BGN 350-400 M if the new electricity prices enter into force as of July 1, according to Petar Iliev, CEO of the National Electric Company (NEK).

NEK says in an official media statement that the new electricity tariffs are illegal.

The financial performance of 152 companies with a state-owned stake of over 50% deteriorated substantially in 2014 as compared to 2013, according to Bulgarian economic policy think-tank Institute for Market Economics (IME).

Bulgaria's Kozloduy nuclear power plant has reported a profit of BGN 63.3 M for the first quarter of 2015, according to an analysis of the company's activity and financial condition in the first three months of the year.

The profit of Kozloduy NPP registered a slight decrease from Q1, 2014, when it stood at BGN 64 M, according to the report, as cited by econ.bg.

There is no reason for an increase in electricity prices or heating rates, according to Bulgaria's Deputy Prime Minister Tomislav Donchev.

In a Monday interview for the Bulgarian National Radio he explained that his prediction was based on the condition of the system and the price of energy carriers.

Bulgaria's National Electric Company (NEK) has signed agreements with US-owned thermal power plants AES Maritza East 1 and ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 TPP under which it will pay BGN 1 B less to the TPPs over the next 10 years.

Bulgaria's National Electric Company (NEK) and the two US-owned thermal power plants AES Maritza East 1 and ContourGlobal Maritsa East 3 TPP are to sign agreements Wednesday on amending the existing long-term contracts.