Caretaker Energy Minister: No gas shortage expected, stable supply forecast for heating season

"No gas shortage is expected. Our forecasts are for a stable supply during the heating season and not only, the issue is the price, that is why we are conducting these procedures. We are working on diversification, several tenders for liquefied gas are currently open, today we plan to announce a tender for pipeline gas, where neighbouring countries have excess quantities," Rosen Hristov, caretaker energy minister, told "The Day Begins" on September 27. He specified that there is serious interest in the auctions.

Rosen Hristov stressed that there wll not be any electricity supply cut offs.

"The Bulgarian energy system is stable, planned repairs are carried out on time. We do not expect overloading, there are no risks. We need to provide energy sources to everyone so that people do not have to invest in changing the types of heating, because this is an additional cost," Rosen Hristov noted.

He commented that today the interconnector with Greece should receive Act 16.

"Or tomorrow at the latest, the CEWRC is ready to take out a license for the transition to commercial operation and on October 1 will be the official opening. The system will be activated and commercial quantities of gas will flow through the pipeline. I cannot comment on the price because it is confidential, but it is very competitive, lower than now," the energy minister said.

In his words, our country has not given up on Russian gas, but so far there is no concrete response from Gazprom to the Bulgarian demands.

"There is no need to reject a potential supplier in this case. "Bulgargaz” continues to make requests. Negotiations are underway with a number of suppliers. There is no risk of being flooded with cheap gas and wondering what to do about it. There is some probability that Gazprom Export will ask for compensation," Rossen Hristov added.

He stressed that the caretaker cabinet does not want an arbitration case.

"The LNG tankers were not real, there was no chance to take them and unload them, it proved impossible to secure slots due to the short deadline. Greece announced a tender for slots in mid-October for 2023 which we intend to participate in. We are actively negotiating with the Turkish side for both this year and next year. Gas at any price does not work for us," Rosen Hristov added.

According to him, a bill is currently being drafted to be left to the next regular government and to include compensation for gas as well.

"The measures will be more comprehensive and targeted at those who need it most. I propose that the level of support should depend on commitments from the responding party to savings, optimisation and energy efficiency. For end-users, the price is expected to remain subsidised, ideally heating electricity, gas and heating should be roughly the same price. We are trying to develop a fair compensation system in order to prevent people from giving up heating and buying air conditioners, the idea is that the volumes that end customers consume should be those that they actually use," Rosen Hristov said.