The current rise in electricity prices will have a negative impact on future investments in the modernization of production, says Politimi Paunova
The enterprises in the metallurgical sector managed to reduce their electricity consumption several times, but the current jump in prices will have a negative impact on any future investments in the modernization of production. This was stated on the air of Bloomberg TV Bulgaria by Politimi Paunova, executive director of the Bulgarian Association of the Metallurgical Industry.
“The sector cannot transfer the risk of an increase in electricity to consumers because it offers the production of metals on the stock exchange in competition with global companies”, she said.
European industry has issued a document setting out the root causes of the current situation. These are the imbalance in the natural gas market, the seasonal factors for the production of renewable energy sources, the shutdown of NPP capacities, and the growth in prices.
“The rules for the operation of energy markets need to be updated in order to create conditions for guaranteeing investments in the longer term. There is talk of monitoring this market so as not to create excessive hopes that it will regulate itself. We are witnessing a lot of distortions, including in Bulgaria”, said Paunova and gave as an example the conducted tender for quantities from the NPP, which was bought by the traders and did not reach the industry.
According to the expert, the proposed measures do not solve the problems in the future and more general measures are needed.
“There are productions in which energy is in the order of 40% of the costs - no other item can cover this increased value,” Paunova commented.
She believes that what makes us different from the competition in Europe is that in Bulgaria some practices are not applied, which are allowed by the European Commission.
Paunova said that these are the financial mechanism to compensate for the indirect costs of carbon emissions and over-the-counter energy supply contracts.
“Our competitors in Europe do not buy on the stock exchange and have long-term agreements - this is not allowed in our country,” she recalled.
Paunova confirmed that the metallurgical industry sector is structural for the Bulgarian economy, but also especially important for the proposed “green deal” of the EU.
“There are companies in Bulgaria that work with the best and most modern world technologies,” she stressed.
According to the executive director of the Bulgarian Association of the Metallurgical Industry, the belief prevails that the problems will be overcome and a balance will be found.
“There must be quick and adequate solutions both at EU and national level”, Paunova insisted, stressing that schemes can always be found to support such an important industry. “This is not the metallurgy of the past, but of the future.”
