BULGARIA
ELECTRICITY
REGULATION 2006
published by Getting the Deal Through
January 2006
Policy
1. Broadly speaking, what is the governmental
policy and legislative framework for the electricity
sector?
The governmental policy of the Republic of
Bulgaria in the entire energy sector is set out in the national Energy Strategy
and the Long-Term Programme for Energy Efficiency till 2015 adopted by the
Ministry of Energy and Energy Resources (MEER) and the Energy Efficiency Agency
(EEA).
The main priorities on which the Programme is
based include:
-
high level of competitiveness;
-
reliability of the energy supply; and
-
environmental protection.
- Promotion of investments in energy efficiency of the end
users;
- Governmental support for consumption management projects with
significant social effect;
- Promotion of the development of electricity saving heating
possibilities and the improvement of the access to them;
- Redirection of the electricity energy to high technology industrial
needs and reduction of its price through suspension of larger investments
(construction of effective gas and heat supply systems);
- Elimination of the prices deviations in respect to the different energy
resources;
- Improvement of the efficiency in the processes of energy
transformation;
- Promotion of the combined electricity and heat
generation;
- Reduction of energy losses.
The energy policy of Bulgaria is regulated by the following legislative
documents:
- The Energy Act, published in State Gazette dated 09.12.2003 (EA), which
provides the general framework for the energy sector operation. It is based on
the compliance with the Energy Charter Treaty and the EU energy
regulations.
- The Energy Efficiency Act, published in State Gazette dated 05.03.2004,
which provides the particular definition of the energy efficiency as a national
priority and sets the institutional, regulatory and financial terms for the
implementation of the energy goals in view of the successful accession of the
country to the EU.
Besides to these major energy acts particular regulations of the energy activities is contained in the Territory Planning Act, the Act on the Technical Requirements to Products, the National Standardization Act and a great number of secondary legislation acts – Ordinances and Rules. The main characteristic of all the current regulations of the energy sector is their harmonization with the relevant EU Directives.