The price of electricity from January 1, 2026, after households enter the free market, will be at least double. This is what the energy expert Yavor Kuyumdzhiev warned in the program "Morning of Focus". on Radio "Focus“ with host Asya Alexandrova.
With the entry into the free market of household consumers, every household can choose a new electricity trader or stay with the same one, he explained.
"It becomes more interesting for traders because they will set their own price. KEVR will not say what the price of electricity will be. In my opinion, there will be two groups of traders, as in other countries. Already next year, companies will appear that will offer us their services to supply us with electricity. Some will tell us a fixed price for one, three, five years, the others will offer us to be intermediaries on the stock exchange for a commission”, explained Kuyumdzhiev.
The energy expert said he would trust a trader with a good reputation, large resources and low risk of bankruptcy.
"But these companies are usually the most expensive. I wouldn't trust start-ups. If the merchant goes bankrupt, another unpleasant procedure is entered into, and in such a case the customer of the bankrupt merchant goes to a supplier of last resort. There are licensed DPIs in the state, and there the price is four times higher than it is on the market”, he explained.
The World Bank predicts a double increase in global electricity consumption by 2050. The decision to build the Seventh and Eighth Units of the "Kozloduy” is a strategic decision in this direction, he noted.
"The other question is why we didn't build two more blocks in "Belene" in the meantime, which were bought and are still there. Maybe geopolitics prevented us from making this project happen. If for some reason the construction of "Kozloduy” delayed or dropped, we're going to be in a really bad crisis because there's no electricity in the region as a whole, especially now, with the war in Ukraine. It further aggravates the shortage in our region. If the coal plants stop and if we don't have nuclear electricity, we will fall into a severe crisis, said Yavor Kuyumdzhiev.
The licenses of the two operating units at the Kozloduy NPP are until 2047 and 2049
"We have to start thinking about two more nuclear blocks if we want to be energy independent. While we are building block 7 and 8 on "Kozloduy”, we need to start preparations for two other blocks, as by the way everyone is doing at the moment. In Poland, they signed the contracts for the construction of six blocks. In the Czech Republic, the procedure for selecting a supplier for two new units has been completed, although they have six operating units”, the energy expert gave examples.
The sharp rejection of coal power by some countries leads to imbalances in the system, he was categorical.
"Solar energy is a very good thing, during the day the price of electricity starts to become very low at certain times. But when the sun goes down and there is no light, only nuclear or coal plants can produce. We have only one nuclear power plant, which cannot compensate for the consumption during these hours when the sun is not there. For today, for example, between 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., the price of electricity is 10-12 euros per megawatt-hour, and in the 20:00-21:00 time zone it is 160 euros per megawatt-hour“, Yavor Kuyumdzhiev gave an example.