On April 1, 2025, the TPP "ContourGlobal Maritsa-East 3" officially shuts down its capacity for the second time - without a plan to restart it, but also without a plan for the future - neither for the installation, nor for alternative jobs, reports "Greenpeace".
No joke, the story of the second largest coal-fired power plant in the country shows exactly how the energy transition is happening in Bulgaria: coal is chaotically, but quite realistically, leaving the energy mix, despite the illusory promises of a bright future for this industry. However, politicians in Bulgaria prefer the warm blanket of populism to reasonable and ambitious planning. The issue is not just about the future, but about the present of those employed in the sector.
The shutdown of the TPP “ContourGlobal Maritsa-East 3“ is a clear sign that coal-fired power generation is dying without state subsidies. This plant operated at full capacity until February 2024, when its 15-year long-term contract expired. Under it, the Bulgarian state purchased all of its energy at fixed prices. Without it, the plant had no economic benefit in continuing to operate, except for a few short periods of extremely high energy prices last summer and winter months.
The same scenario awaits the other so-called American plant in the Maritsa Basin – “AES Maritsa-East 1“. Its long-term contract expires in 2026. It will most likely also stop operating. Despite its publicly announced plans for investments in alternatives, there is no clarity about the timetable for their implementation and the future of the jobs of its employees.
These developments are of great importance to the state-owned Maritsa-East Mines. With the shutdown of the ContourGlobal Maritsa-East 3 TPP, the mines are losing their second most important client. When this happened a year ago, it became clear that the mining company's work was shrinking by a third. However, the company is not undertaking any restructuring. Instead of looking for alternatives for the future and preparing the region for them, governments and parliaments have preferred to promise that nothing will change. It is also unclear how long the state can afford to subsidize the loss-making enterprise.
Looking at the American power plants, let's also take a look at the future of the state-owned Maritsa-East 2 TPP. During the period 2019-2023, it is maintained on artificial respiration only thanks to state aid in the amount of 2.6 billion leva. With the widespread introduction of nearly three gigawatts of solar capacity in recent years, its role has been drastically transformed into a seasonal producer and balancer of the transforming system. Another conversation about the future of our energy system that we need to have seriously.