Krasimir Nenov: We have a huge delay at IECP, but we are trying to catch up

The start of public consultations on the update of the Integrated National Plan in the field of energy and climate (IECP) was the main topic of the conference "Policies and investments for a sustainable, efficient and secure energy system". It was held today in Sofia, and the organizer of the event was the energy efficiency center "EnEfect" with the assistance of the Ministry of Energy.

Deputy Minister Krasimir Nenov began his participation in the conference by thanking the teams that are currently restoring power to affected households throughout the country, adding that we need a sustainable electricity system in the context of climate change.

The Deputy Minister presented to the participants the current state of the Integrated National Plan in the field of energy and climate, the updating of which should have been completed by June of this year.

"It is a fact that there is a huge delay in this process, but the team of the Ministry of Energy is trying to catch up with urgent actions. An interdepartmental working group has already been established with the participation of several ministries and the Agency for Sustainable Energy Development. The forum itself is the first real opportunity to create conditions for the construction of a suitable discussion format in which to receive proposals and opinions and to structure the conversation on the update of IECP", commented the deputy minister.

Krasimir Nenov emphasized that another important element is that we are in the process of engaging the authoritative company E3 Modeling to prepare an updated model of the energy balance. Initial modeling results are expected in January, and after formulation and selection of appropriate scenarios, final results are expected in March. Proposals have already been received from some of the involved ministries for revisions to the plan. At the same time, the Ministry of Energy also relies on open discussions and opinions on the part of the involved participants, so that the plan drawn up by the MoEW and ME teams can be based on a wider public agreement.

During the discussion panel, Deputy Minister Nenov answered questions about the assumptions being made and why additional modeling is needed beyond what was obtained within the Energy Transition Commission. He stated that a lot of work has been done within the framework of the KEP, both in terms of assumptions about the country's energy consumption and the development of the electricity sector. Krasimir Nenov added that then a number of assumptions that emerged as consensus were reflected in the approved Roadmap for climate neutrality until 2050. He also said that the modeling within the KEP is a fact, the trajectory is clear, the market opportunities in terms of different technologies are clear, a strong development of RES, grid development, other low-emission capacities, including new nuclear reactors towards the middle of the next is allowed a decade. However, additional or new modeling is necessary, because what was done within the framework of the KEP mainly affects electricity, and for the purposes of updating the Integrated National Plan in the field of energy and climate, it is necessary to model the entire energy sector, including thermal energy, transport, industry and so called

When asked whether the Ministry of Energy is working on an Energy Strategy and whether the Integrated Plan "Energy and Climate" will not overtake this process, Deputy Minister Nenov replied that the work on the Energy Strategy is being carried out in an accelerated order, but the project is based on the current results of the huge work done by KEP, respectively, on one of the scenarios laid out in the Climate Neutrality Roadmap. The idea is that at some point, when the work on updating the Integrated Plan progresses, the Energy Strategy project will be completed so that we have synchronized strategic documents.