National Electricity Company

Bulgaria's energy watchdog has sent two complaints to the European Commission concerning unlawful State aid to two US-owned thermal power plants and to renewable energy producers.

State-owned National Electricity Company (NEK) registered a record loss of BGN 338 M (EUR 169 M) last year, sources in the Ministry of Economy and Energy say.

The latest reports by the Bulgarian daily Trud, which cites the sources, comes after reiterated comments by Economy Minister Dragomir Stoynev that a loss of BGN 500  M (EUR 250 M) was expected at NEK for 2013.

Electricity price is considerably lower than what its real level should be, Bulgaria's former Economy Minister Rumen Ovcharov explained on Monday.

The opposition party GERB submitted a no-confidence vote on Friday over the socialist-led government's energy policy.

Friday's motion is the fourth one by former Prime Minister Boyko Borisov's GERB since the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP) came into power in May 2013.

The deadline for Bulgaria's Electricity Distribution Companies (EDCs) to present their standpoint in the dispute with energy watchdog DKEVR expires on Monday.

It has been extended twice so far, after the National Electricity Company (NEK) presented new proofs in the dispute on the debts of the EDCs. 

The Bulgarian energy watchdog DKEVR postponed on Monday its decision whether to suspend permits of grid operators in the country.

A new session on that matter is due to be held on May 12, as Expert.bg reported.

Bulgaria's National Electricity Company (NEK) owed 24% more at the end of 2013 than it did the previous year.

As of December 2013, its debt reached BGN 3.2 B (EUR 1.6 B), according to the newspaper Kapital Daily, which cites official data provided by the company.

The audit being conducted by Bulgaria's energy watchdog DKEVR at Czech-based power distributor CEZ has found no lapses so far, the company announced on Tuesday.

According to results of the financial inspection, no violation of license duties has been committed by the power distributor, Dnevnik.bg has reported.

An increasing number of large Bulgarian companies buy electricity from abroad, said the chairperson of the Institute for Energy Management Ivanka Dilovska at an energy forum. 

According to her the trend started in the past several months and will most likely increase until the full capacity of imports is reached. 

Sofia's heating utility Toplofikatsia must receive BGN 100 M by Bulgaria's National Electricity Company (NEK) for the energy it has produced.

Toplofikatsia Sofia's chief executive Stoyan Tsvetanov said that NEK's liabilities, if paid, will help the company to get rid of its own debts amounting to BGN 628 M, the website Money.bg reports.