The situation around Bulgargaz and the sold 37 thousand MWh through the gas exchange is becoming more and more absurd

Marinela Arabadjieva

The situation around the deal for the sale of 60,000 MWh on the Balkan Gas Hub gas exchange is starting to look absurd. At first reading it turns out that in practice the activities for which the former management of Bulgargaz was accused and released are also carried out by the new management. Simply because market realities and rules are the same and must be followed. This became generally clear from the "closed" sitting of the Energy Committee of the National Assembly. The very situation around the meeting turned out to be in the field of "absurdities".

The meeting was classified, despite the objections of GERB deputies, who defended the position of public interest. However, the majority voted for a closed meeting on the grounds that SANS is already checking the deal and is aware of the 8 companies that played in Saturday's trade for 60 thousand MWh. The journalists were asked to leave the hall because of the sensitive or more precisely classified information. Then it turned out that the main figures to be heard about the deals in the person of the current director of Bulgargaz Lyudmil Yotsov and the head of the Balkan Gas Hub Kiril Ravnachki do not have access to classified information, but as Delyan Dobrev noted, "companies know."

"In the trade of electricity, which is no different from that of gas, the information is public. Both buyers and sellers are clear, "Dobrev recalled. The only useful information we received from the head of SANS, who told us who the companies are and how many quantities. According to him, the information about which deal was concluded and at what price was also interesting, but he refused more information because of the signed declarations of confidentiality.

Among the absurdities was the fact that Bulgargaz sold natural gas to the company in which the current head of the public supplier had participated until recently. However, Yotsov sees nothing wrong with this, and the only thing he can do is ban trade in it. "I don't know how okay it is to forbid one company not to buy, but to allow others to buy," he said.

More importantly, however, the deal itself around Bulgargaz, and in particular the sale of 37,000 MWh, is also part of this absurdity. As is well known, one of the reasons for the dismissal of the former management of the public provider was due to the exercise of his legal rights and, in particular, the sale of gas at "cheap" prices to Romania. (refuted by the former head of the gas company Nikolay Pavlov).

In particular, it concerns the sale of surplus natural gas on the gas exchange. This activity must be carried out in compliance with the rules for balancing the system. Exactly such activity was carried out on Saturday by the new management of the gas company with the sale of 37 thousand MWh.

This was confirmed to journalists by the new executive director of Bulgargaz, Lyudmil Yotsov. According to him, the sale of the surplus is on the one hand "because of the warmer weather, because the companies do not work on weekends, but also because because of the warmer weather district heating companies use less gas." In response to a question why quantities are being withdrawn from the gas storage in Chiren, Yotsov practically confirmed the already known information - "because there is a schedule in accordance with the EWRC and approved by Bulgartransgaz. Another detail - Yotsov clarified that there is only one person in the company who carries out the transactions and he is completely independent. The executive director himself, as Yotsov clarified, has no influence over him.

"I can't say what happened. I explain why it is not a problem. In principle, this is not a problem, as the quantities approved by Bulgartransgaz are monthly, they are agreed with the EWRC and are given and delivered in the price in February. If you reduce these quantities, it remains for you to replace them with quantities that are of greater value. This means that at the end of the month and given at the beginning of the EWRC, it will turn out that Bulgargaz has a short-term income that must be transferred when equalizing prices in other months. That is, one price is given, but when done "One operation may not be for March, but in April-May this shortfall should be included in the pricing," Yotsov explained. "I don't know what it was like before the case," he said, adding that this was basically the situation.

The new head of Bulgargaz also announced that today the company submitted an application for the price of gas for March, which offers lower price by 1.75%.

Asked about the company's financial condition, Yotsov said "we will get better".

"Bulgargaz's accounts are not empty, there is little money. The main problem has always been Sofia District Heating, he said, adding that Bulgargaz has collected a little over BGN 400 million. additional payment for gas supplies from Russia.

As it is known, the advance payment is made by a certain date from the previous month, and Pavlov himself clarified a day ago that 60% of the advance payment of the Bulgarian company to the Russian supplier was made by the old board.

Commenting on the situation around the gas company and the deals, earlier in a statement Delyan Dobrev confirmed his thesis - part of the market that now holds Bulgargaz should be given to others. Watch what

The goal is for the share of Bulgargaz in the market, which is currently 95%, to be divided between the intermediaries, which will burden the Bulgarian consumer with hundreds of millions. "My forecast is that Bulgargaz will remain half by the end of the year," Delyan Dobrev said. According to him, this will cost society millions. Asked where this conclusion came from, Dobrev explained: "Because you heard that the cabinet has an idea to change the function of Bulgargaz as a public supplier," he said, explaining that an attempt is being made to make Bulgargaz sell, with legal changes, expensive gas to the industry. "If so far it is sold at prices close to the regulated price, if this happens it will sell at prices about 30% higher. At this point, after the public provider is pushed out of the market by law, intermediaries will enter. In the end, all companies will pay much more for gas, and hence the goods in stores will become more expensive than they are now, "said Dobrev.