Bulgaria to suspend some 40% of solar, wind power plants

SOFIA (Bulgaria), March 26 (SeeNews) – The Bulgarian authorities will suspend the operations of 40% of solar and wind power plants due to non-compliance, the country’s energy ministry said on Tuesday.

The suspension will be valid until renewable energy producers begin to provide real-time information about the amount of energy they have generated to the Central Dispatch Authority (CDA) with the country's Electricity System Operator (ESO), as required by law, the ministry said in a statement, quoting energy minister Assen Vassilev as saying.

Those violations make it more difficult to manage the energy system, especially during overproduction, Vassilev said.

The measure is part of a larger package which aims to stabilise the country’s energy sector.

Vassilev said that Bulgaria’s energy sector suffers from overcapacity and overproduction. He added that Bulgaria has 12,000 megawatts in installed capacity, which are more than twice the consumption of 4,700 MW and the exports of maximum 300 MW.

Another proposal envisages changes to the rules for purchasing of energy produced by factory power plants. They now sell their energy at preferential prices but buy the quantities they need at lower prices from the energy suppliers. This practice distorts the market and violates the EU directives, Vassilev said.

ESO will also have to lower the country’s cold reserve to 840 MW from 1,040 MW at present and find a way to abolish the restrictions on exports of electricity to Turkey.

Other measures include acceleration of the liberalisation of the energy market.

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