Enel in talks with two bidders for Bulgaria plant Italy's biggest utility Enel is holding talks with U.S. fund Contour Global and Russia's InterRAO to sell its Bulgarian thermal power plant, a source familiar with the matter said on Monday. "There are two negotiation tables, one is with the U.S. Contour Global, another is with Russia's InterRAO," a source who declined to be named told Reuters, adding that the timing for any deal is yet to be finalized. Another source, familiar with the negotiations, said Contour Global has been in talks with Enel during the past five months and expected a deal soon. Investment bank Lazard was advising Contour on the sale, the source said. Enel, Europe's most indebted utility, declined to comment. And U.S. investment fund Contour Global, which specializes in electric power and district heating businesses, was not immediately available for comment. Russia's InterRAO said in November it offered to acquire Enel's Bulgarian assets in exchange for some of InterRAO's assets in Russia. Bulgarian weekly Capital also reported that Contour Global and InterRAO were in negotiations for the 908 megawatt Maritsa East Three coal-fired plant in Bulgaria.
Source: Reuters (19.01.2011)

Bulgaria’s energy regulator said it extended the electricity and heat production licence of coal-fired power plant Maritsa 3 by five years until the end of 2015. Maritsa 3 requested on February 18 a ten-year extension of its licence, saying that the company is financially stable, it has the necessary infrastructure and qualified personel and its main facilities are in good technical condition, the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) said. The regulator however, extend the power plant's licence by five years only, as it deemed the plant's financial condition was poor and because of the plant's urgent need to renovate its production facilities in order to comply with EU environmental requirements. The regulator added that Maritsa 3 is allowed a total of 20,000 hours of work by the end 2015 taking into account its harmful emissions but will reach this allowance already in September of this year.
Source: Dnevnik (14.03.2011)

Bulgaria Allows ContourGlobal To Acquire Maritza East 3, Enel Operations Bulgaria Bulgaria's antitrust regulator said on Wednesday it allowed a unit of U.S.-based independent power producer ContourGlobal to acquire 73% of Bulgarian coal-fired power plant Maritza East 3 and in Enel Operations Bulgaria AD from Italy’s Enel. ContourGlobal Bulgaria Holdings B.V will acquire the Netherlands-registered companies Maritza East III Power Holding BV and Maritza O&M Holding Netherland BV, which hold the two stakes in the Bulgarian companies, the Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) said in a statement. Maritza East 3 AD owns Bulgarian coal-fired power plant Maritza East 3, while Enel Operations Bulgaria AD is responsible for the plant’s maintenance and operations. The acquisition will not hinder competition on the domestic market, CPC said. In March Enel said reached an agreement with ContourGlobal (www.contourglobal.com) to sell its stake in Maritza East 3 for 230 million euro ($326.4 million) Located in southeast Bulgaria, Maritza East 3 accomodates about 10% of the country's installed generation capacity. Last year it posted revenues of some 231 million euro and earnings before interest and tax (EBIT) of about 69 million euro.
Source: Standart (19.05.2011)

Bulgaria's Commission for Protection of Competition (CPC) has given approval to US investment fund ContourGlobal to buy a 73 per cent stake in Bulgaria's Enel Maritsa East 3 thermal power plant from Italian power group Enel SpA, the antitrust regulator said on May 18 2011. The deal, valued at 230 million leva, will be carried out via the fund's unit ContourGlobal Bulgaria Holdings. Enel, which announced plans to sell the plant two years ago, picked the buyer for Maritsa East 3 in mid-March. The company plans to leave the Bulgarian market and will also sell its wind power capacities on the northern Black Sea coast. When presenting Enel's annual financial results in London in March, CEO Fulvio Conti gave no specific reason for the company's withdrawal from Enel Maritza East 3, saying only that the plant was simply not in line with the development strategy of the group.
Source: Dnevnik (19.05.2011)

SMEs Must Join Free Electricity Market, Regulator Says There are plans to amend the Energy Act in order to make small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) join the free electricity market, State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission Chair Angel Semerdjiev told the media on Tuesday. Currently, companies with a staff of up to 50 and with sales below a certain limit are protected users of electricity, just like public institutions and households. But these companies should come out into the free market as part of the effort to liberalize the energy sector, Semerdjiev said. SMEs may not be ready to look for an electricity supplier for themselves, so initially the function of end supplier may be performed by the National Electric Company, he said. "The coming of all industrial enterprises into the free market does not necessarily mean that they will pay higher prices for electricity," Semerdjiev noted. Early estimates show that the free market price of electricity is similar to that on the regulated market, he said, adding that more accurate data will be available towards the end of the year. "The main difference between the free market and the regulated market is in the approach: all users on the regulated market know the price of electricity for a year to come, while the free market experiences price fluctuations depending on demand and supply. Price changes will become more frequent [for SMEs], but at the end of the day, being active on the free market will not put the companies on the losing side," he said. In particular, enterprises connected to the medium voltage power grid must certainly become free market players, Semerdjiev said. Small shops and cafes will remain protected users of electricity. The authorities are drawing up criteria for determining exactly what businesses should move into the free market. The most likely criteria will be the amount of electricity consumed and whether the electricity used is low or medium voltage, he said. Economy, Energy and Tourism Minister Traicho Traikov for his part urged for careful consideration of the way the number of the so-called protected consumers of electricity will be reduced, so as not to increase the end price of power for this group. Traikov said that if SMEs are removed from the group of protected consumers, the quantity of electricity for the regulated market will decrease, while the more expensive power - that purchased on longer-term contracts from the Maritsa-East 1 and 2 thermal power plants and hydro-power plants, remains on this market.
Source: 3e-news (26.10.2011)

NEC will invest 30% more resources in 2012 compared to this year. The total amount of capital investment next year will reach BGN 220 million compared to BGN 170 million for 2011. BGN 80 million of this year's investments were received from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development under International Fund "Kozloduy", said CEO Mihail Andonov. Priority projects in which funds will be used next year are the two new substations "Mayak" and "Kavarna" in northeastern Bulgaria, as well as two 400 kV power lines from substation "Plovdiv" to "Maritsa-Iztok 3" and from "Maritsa East" to Bourgas.
Source: Monitor (30.12.2011)