Employers to Proceed with Protests Pushing for Electricity Sector Reforms

Sofia, June 25 (BTA) - Employer organizations are determined to
proceed with planned protests despite the government's
willingness to address the problems in the electricity sector,
the organizations said in a statement after a June 24 meeting
chaired by Prime Minister Boyko Borissov.

The meeting was attended by the competent deputy prime minister,
the ministers of energy, economy and finance, officials of
state-owned electricity companies, employers and trade union
leaders.

The statement said that although there has been some progress in
identifying the real problems relevant to the financial
deficits and imbalances in the electricity sector, this is just
the beginning of the process. Therefore, a large number of
industrial plants will stop operating for an hour between 11
a.m. and 12 p.m. on June 26 to demonstrate the business
community's determination to push for irreversible reforms in
the electricity industry. In this way, they will support the
efforts of government ministers to initiate vital changes in the
sector and take a stance against longtime practices of
uncontrollable theft and wrongdoing.

According to the employers' statement, Wednesday's meeting
confirmed the parties' commitment to reforming the electricity
sector. The reforms are aimed to allow the Energy and Water
Regulatory Commission to revise the electricity pricing model
and refrain from increasing electricity prices for both
corporate and individual users. The meeting mapped out measures
to reduce the incentives to renewable energy power plants,
high-efficiency co-generating facilities, and power plants
selling their output under long-term agreements. Other measures
concern the management of state electricity companies and the
development of active commercial policies.

The meeting endorsed the establishment of a public body to plan
and supervise electricity sector reforms. The body will comprise
government ministers and representatives of employer
organizations and trade unions, the statement said.