In a written answer to questions asked by the Member of the European Parliament Radan Kanev, the European Commission identified as contrary to the principles and regulation of the free electricity market in the EU the adopted by the EWRC amendments to the Electricity Trading Rules (ETR), which prohibit the possibility of merging balancing groups with single financial settlement. and monopolize the balancing market. Changes that came into force on 01.02.2022 and directly lead to a significant increase in the balancing costs for renewable energy producers.
The position of the EC is in full support of our legitimate interests as producers of energy from renewable sources, which by delegating the responsibility for balancing and in wider market groupings of balancing groups, we have the right to reduce balancing costs by implementing the principles of free electricity market.
As we have informed you, the Bulgarian Photovoltaic Association (BPVA) together with the Bulgarian Wind Energy Association (BGWEA) and the Association of Electricity Traders in Bulgaria (ATEB), we have undertaken a series of actions, meetings and written statements, with which we informed the Bulgarian institutions about the adverse effects on the investors in RES from the ban on the merging of balancing groups with single financial settlement, as well as for the contradiction of the changes in the ETR, prepared by the EWRC, with art. 5 of Regulation (EU) 2019/943 of the European Parliament and of the Council on common rules for the internal market in electricity.
Our position was supported by Solar Power Europe, Wind Europe and the European Federation of Energy Traders (EFET).
As a result of the response received from the European Commission, we are preparing a letter to the National Assembly, the Ministry of Energy and the EWRC for immediate repeal of the adopted changes in the ETR.
We express our gratitude to the Bulgarian MEP, Mr. Radan Kanev, who raised the issue to the EC and focused Brussels attention on the implementation of European regulations in Bulgaria in the field of free electricity market and in protecting the predictable and stable regulatory environment for new RES investments.
As the largest and leading branch organization of investors in RES, BPVA appreciates the strong support of European institutions as an incentive for even more active and effective work towards full adoption of European regulations in support of new investments in RES.
