Boyan Rashev: Maritsa-East saves Bulgaria

The world is in an unprecedented energy crisis, which is hitting Europe particularly hard. The prices of the main fuels behind the production of electricity - coal and natural gas - are rising at an unprecedented rate. In the last six months alone, the gas of the Dutch hub has jumped by 217%, and Australian coal for export - by 103%. It is mainly due to the giant jump in consumption, which supply cannot satisfy. Oil is a little behind because the pandemic is still restricting movement and especially flights. But this is only temporary. Expert Boyan Rashev commented on this on social networks.

"All this is a logical result after years of policies to limit investment in exploration, exploration and extraction of fossil fuels, which in 2020 reached insane levels - not only countries but even private money left them. In Europe, we feel the impact especially strongly, because here are added the costs of carbon emissions from fuel combustion, which already reach a record 62 euros / ton of CO2, "added Rashev.

As a result, from the end of July, the red colors completely took over the map of stock market electricity prices. The scale even had to be extended to a violet-pink range. Energy-intensive industries were the first to be hit. After them, all other businesses felt it. The avalanche will soon sweep away households as well. Gas storage facilities in Europe are empty. With the first frosts there will be a catastrophe that can no longer be avoided.

A look at electricity prices from the beginning of September clearly shows which European countries still have a chance to survive in such conditions - Poland and Bulgaria. What they have in common is that they rely heavily on their local cheap coal, rather than on gas or hard coal imports. In Bulgaria, of course, Kozloduy NPP also plays a big role. However, it will soon close a block for a one-month scheduled renovation. And then again we will wait for the miners and TPPs to work at full capacity. They will provide over 60% of the electricity. The same will happen in the winter, when the load of the system exceeds 7000 MW and even all large hydropower plants will not be able to cover a significant share. And temporary energy sources (sun and wind) do not even make sense to mention - they love both night and winter sleep.

If we had already closed the Maritza-East mines and relied on gas-fired power plants, we would have been completely at the mercy of Gazprom and the world's record gas prices. Today, mines still protect us, but the pressure from European policies and markets is growing. What about tomorrow?