Record low electricity exports - decline in generation and consumption

The Electricity System Operator reported record drop in electricity exports by nearly 79% in the first four months of the year.

Against this backdrop, a decline in electricity production and domestic consumption is reported.

One of the reasons for the record drop in electricity exports is due to cheaper electricity in neighbouring countries that are outside the European Union and do not pay carbon emission quotas.

"Bulgaria, instead of exporting electricity as it used to do, exports Bulgarian lignite to Serbia, then Serbian electricity is generated in Serbian power plants with Bulgarian lignite and then this produced electricity is imported to Bulgaria," said Dobrin Ivanov, executive director of AICB.

The drop in electricity production is not only due to the huge collapse in electricity exports, but also to the contraction in consumption.

The country consumed 4.5% less electricity in the first four months of the year, and the reasons are both climatic and economic, the AICB said.

"Temperatures were on average about 7 degrees higher compared to the last 5 years, which implies less consumption of electricity by both household and non-household consumers," Dobrin Ivanov added.

The decrease in consumption is also due to the fact that many energy-intensive enterprises have built their own energy sources for their own consumption in recent years, which in turn reduces the consumption of energy from the general grid.

The country's shrinking coal-fired power generation is being offset by photovoltaic plants, the energy ministry said.

"The main issue we are looking at now is the overproduction of photovoltaic capacity, which has become very fashionable in recent years due to its attractive prices and rapid construction," said Georgi Samandov, deputy energy minister.

Cheap green energy is pushing down electricity prices on the free market and even competing with nuclear power.

"From photovoltaic plants, the price is about 45 euros per megawatt-hour, which is only slightly higher than the price of Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant and significantly lower than the price of electricity generated by thermal plants. Even negative prices have been reached on the energy exchange. This means that every consumer will receive money for consuming energy", said Georgi Samandov.

Currently, nearly 55% of the country's electricity production is green energy - 44% from RES and 11% from hydropower plants.