No Risk for Bulgaria to Be Left without Electricity – Electricity System Operator CEO

Jerusalem, 6 October, 2022 (TPS) -- SOFIA, 06.10.2022 (BTA)
At this point, Bulgaria is not in danger of being left without electricity, Electricity System Operator (ESO) CEO Angelin Tsachev responded to a reporter’s question here on Thursday at the end of a round table titled “The Green Transition – Investments in Technologies and Network Services”. The question came after Tsachev warned during the forum that if the country does not make the necessary investments in its electricity system, it may find itself “in the dark” due to grid congestion from a large number of newly connected renewable energy sources (RES).

The head of the ESO is confident that there are still sufficient operational reserves to safely manage the country’s electricity system. Tsachev warned that the excessive development of RES facilities without the parallel implementation of baseload emission-free powers or the introduction of energy storage facilities would certainly lead to such risks in the future.

So far, applications for new RES facilities with a total capacity of 28,000 MW have been submitted to the ESO. The Operator also signed contracts with electricity distribution companies for more than 3,000 MW of new RES plants, which will be implemented within 3 to 5 years. Tsachev pointed out two large projects that are currently underway – a 300 MW and a 150 MW one.

The ESO CEO explained that European institutions are discussing the option of exchanging electricity through the construction of a new transmission network that would allow the supply of electricity from Southeastern Europe to Central and Western Europe and vice versa. Tsachev supports the construction of energy storage facilities and green hydrogen plants, as this can develop other sectors of the economy, such as transport, chemical industry, cement production, etc.