DOBRI MITREV: WE ALL NEED TO FIND SOLUTIONS TO TACKLE ENERGY POVERTY
Challenging times lay ahead in the next 3-4 months, said the Chairman of the Bulgarian Industrial Association, Dobri Mitrev, for BNR.
"Hard times of high energy prices, high prices of goods and services resulting from energy prices."
According to him, the price businesses currently pay, is substantial, especially those who buy their energy on the electricity exchange.
"At the moment, for the citizens, for the household consumers, the situation does not seem as dramatic."
Europe has switched to greener energy, but as we can see, this is to some extent a constraint, Mitrev stressed.
"Currently, Bulgaria has no major energy alternatives."
Dobri Mitrev pointed out that we ought to find the right solution so that the drastic increase in prices "does not ruin the Bulgarian economy, Bulgarian society and does not force us into energy poverty."
"There are currently no buffers in the budget, but there are some in the revenue side of the budget. Revenues are increasing significantly, and that's very good. The point is that we need to legislate the price ceilings. "
The socio-economic and financial price of having a new type of energy is unclear, Dobri Mitrev added regarding the Bulgarian Plan for Recovery and Resilience and our country's commitments to shut down coal-fired power plants.
Mitrev asked what the alternatives to the Bulgarian economy and energy system are - what will we replace these capacities with, and will we have enough energy.
"Will this energy be a national raw material, or it will be an import? Will we have energy security and energy independence? What will be the price we will have to pay for this energy? And the even bigger question - what will be the socio-economic price that all of us as a society, economic entities and citizens in these regions, where coal-fired power plants and mines currently operate, will have to pay? These are more complex issues than just setting a date. "
If we specify a date, we must be aware of whether we have the technology, the opportunity for this economic transformation to happen, Mitrev stressed. According to him, this is not just a task of the government, business or municipalities - it is a task of society.
