September 29 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's caretaker government said it is allocating an indicative amount of 3.594 billion levs ($1.77 billion/1.84 billion euro) to extend compensations for soaring power prices for industrial consumers, power suppliers and grid operators until the end of 2022.
As much as 3.214 billion levs of the programme's budget will be set aside for some 633,000 business and industry end consumers between October 1 and December 31, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.
The remaining 380 million levs will go towards compensating power transmission and distribution operators for their increased technological costs of electricity purchases.
All non-household end customers will be fully compensated for the difference between the real average monthly price for base load of the "day ahead" segment of the Bulgarian Independent Electricity Exchange (IBEX) for the relevant month and the base price of 250 levs per MWh.
The maximum compensation for the state-owned Electricity System Operator (ESO) and power grid operators Electrohold Bulgaria, EVN Bulgaria and Energo-Pro Varna will amount to the difference between the real average monthly price on the IBEX day-ahead market and the market prices forecast by the energy regulator. These estimated prices are 421.08 levs per MWh for ESO and 446.78 levs per MWh for the grid operators.
The compensations, to be paid out by March 31, 2023, will come from top-ups to the energy security fund, to be made by the companies of state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH), including the operator of Kozloduy nuclear power plant.
The government's decision prolongs existing measures to tackle spiking energy prices, including measures introduced by the former four-party coalition and approved in the revised 2022 state budget.
In August, the caretaker government approved the provision of electricity subsidies of 700 million levs to businesses for the third quarter.
Earlier this month, the government decided that BEH will boost the state's Electricity System Security Fund with contributions of 970 million levs in light of the holding's windfall first-half consolidated net profit of 2.2 billion levs.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)