As of 1 October, the supply of electricity to all Bulgarian commercial consumers will be liberalized. The Bulgarian Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (KEVR) approved a model contract for the sale of electricity to commercial customers in the free market.
By concluding a standard contract, companies that did not enter the free electricity market by 1 October, will be able to stay with their current supplier in the period from between 1 October 2020 and 30 June 2021. The approved model of the standard contract regulates the rights and obligations of both parties, the conditions for the supply of electricity and the termination of the contract. KEVR said that it used examples of contracts with the largest suppliers in the market (CEZ, EVN, Energo-Pro) in the preparation of a model contract.
The customer will have the right to choose the type of bill – paper or electronic, as well as to request a check in case of suspicion of an incorrect bill for the supplied electricity. The suppliers are obliged to publish the prices in accordance to the individual tariff plans on its website no later than three working days before the end of the month, preceding the month in which the respective prices come into force.
As of 1 October, Bulgarian commercial consumers will lose their right to buy electricity from the regulated market. These changes will affect about 300,000 companies. Between 30,000 and 50,000 companies are already in the free market, which means that about 250,000 companies will have to choose their supplier. If they fail to find a supplier by 1 July 2021, they will be supplied by the supplier of last resort. In terms of consumption, the 300,000 consumers represent one third, or about 4.5 TWh per year, of the country’s regulated market. After the change, only households will remain on the regulated market.