Bulgaria's GERB Seeks to Scrap Special Prices for New Renewable Energy Sources
Senior coalition partner GERB has tabled amendments to the Energy Act removing the preferential prices paid by state-owned energy utility NEK to buy electricity from new renewable energy sources.
Delyan Dobrev, a former Economy Minister now heading Parliament's Energy Committee, believes green energy capacities that have been built after the amendments should not enjoy the same privilege which obliges the National Electricity Company (NEK) to pay more for their energy.
The special status of renewable-energy producers was established during GERB's previous term (2009-2013) to provide incentives for the sector's development in line with EU requirements. Opposition lawmakers, on the other hand, called the move an act of "lobbyism" benefiting certain entrepreneurs allegedly affiliated to the government.