By 10 for, 7 against and 1 abstained, the Energy Committee adopted at first reading the amendments to the Climate Change Act, which provide aid for industrial consumers from the sale of emission allowances. It is about 5% aid, in the amount of BGN 33 million.
As stated in the explanations, the bill proposes the Council of Ministers to create a harmonized legal framework in the Law on Climate Change introducing a mechanism to support enterprises in the industrial sectors and sub-sectors, which are at significant risk from “carbon leakage” due to indirect costs of greenhouse gas emissions affecting their final electricity prices.
The revenues from emission allowances are now coming into the “Security of the electricity system” fund, which means that the money will be released from there. Around 190 companies will benefit from the scheme. This, according to the opinion of the Chairman of the EWRC, Ivan Ivanov, will lead, although slightly, to an increase in the price of electricity for the other end consumers. Ivanov suggested specifying three elements. Because the amount of the aid for the business must be spread over the regulated price, the deadline for fixing the aid should be May 1st, so that the Regulator can decide on electricity prices on June 30, he said. Secondly, the need to set a deadline for supporting energy-intensive companies. The EU directive concerning this issue states that the aid could be up to 25%, said Ivanov. According to the EWRC calculation, if the aid is 25%, it means that BGN 220 million will be directed to the industrial consumers, which will result in an increase of the Obligations to society fee, as well as the price of electricity for the regulated market by 6-7 %. Therefore, the specific proposal of the chairman of the EWRC is to specifically set the aid to be 5%. In terms of electricity price increase for the end user, this will be around 1%. In addition, Ivanov considers it appropriate to set the exact annual amount of aid.
Ramadan Atalay, questioned whether this would disrupt the stability of the Security of the electricity system fund and demanded refinement of amendments and adoption of this law for the next period of the European Emissions Trading Scheme, ie. after 2020, Atalay, as well as other MPs, demanded revision of the list of eligible industrial consumers, who will receive the aid.
Bulgarian business is in fierce competition with the European business, said BFIEC chairman Konstantin Stamenov, who defended the right of the industry to receive aid from emission trading funds. Stamenov reminded that when the size of the fee Obligation to society was reduced, the business was receiving a discount from the fee for green energy not to the size of 120 million, but to BGN 67 million.
Source: 3e-news