November 12 (SeeNews) - The EU Commission's Directorate-General for Competition has approved Bulgaria's scheme for support to businesses in the amount of 110 levs ($64.36/56.24 euro) per MWh of electricity in order to help them cope with soaring power prices, the energy ministry said.
The measure will not be considered state aid and Bulgaria may implement it to back non-household consumers in the context of high electricity prices, the energy ministry said in a statement on Thursday.
Last month, caretaker prime minister Stefan Yanev said that the budget of the energy support programme amounts to 450 million levs. The support will be received for the period from October 1, 2021 to November 30, 2021 and the compensations will be paid by the end of 2021. Over 630,000 non-household consumers will benefit from the scheme, Yanev said.
"We understand that the measure will benefit all consumers other than those subject to regulated prices," the ministry quoted the Directorate-General for Competition as saying said in its response to Bulgaria's request to approve the support scheme.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)