In addition to giving money from the government, I think we are obliged to monitor very closely what is happening along the chain. Price ceiling - no, but margin squeeze - yes. He stated this in the program "From the Day" on BNT, the acting Minister of Energy Traycho Traykov on the state's measures due to the high prices of fuel, related to the war in the Middle East.
"The actions that any government can take, unless it has very deep pockets and money to spend, in a situation of changing and shockingly rising prices of international stock exchange commodities, is to take measures to alleviate this sharp increase in prices. That is why there is a working group that Prime Minister Gyurov created. It includes ministers and representatives of other institutions, where they consider, within the framework of the available financial resources, what can be done on this topic. I cannot tell you specific measures, because such measures have not been taken. But the experience of various European countries so far has been discussed, there are those that let the market find its balance, there are those that have already done something.", the Minister of Energy also commented.
Traykov gave examples of Croatia, Hungary, Greece, where measures have already been taken in connection with rising fuel prices.
"All this costs money, isn't it clear. If you put a ceiling, the difference between the market price and the one that is the ceiling must be covered by the state. Is it a good idea? If the answer were that easy, the discussions wouldn't be so heated. If you put a ceiling without ensuring the economic viability of everyone along the chain, then the products will simply disappear, right, we remember that from communism. So we have some resource that is in the Energy System Security Fund. And the previous time when there was a difference between the price of Russian oil, which "Lukoil" worked with, and the international price. From there, a certain resource has been accumulated, which will be enough for some measures and now we are thinking about how to implement them in the most effective way. In addition to giving money from the government, I think we are obliged to monitor very closely what is happening along the chain. Price ceilings - no, but squeezing margins - yes. I had the opportunity to tell this to the companies in the sector. They are worried about making such decisions that are in a panic, are not considered, are not coordinated. I also don't want us to act in that way.", he further commented.
The Energy Minister emphasized that measures are being taken against price speculation.
"What I talked about with the companies, because practice shows, we see it now from information from colleagues from other European countries, that in such sharp movements, when your raw material jumps by 30% in one day, you say to yourself - "Now no matter how much I raise it, it won't be noticeable in the crowd" - this should not be allowed. The same was my appeal to the special manager of the refinery, Mr. Spetsov. It is one thing to take advantage of the situation and inflate profits, it is another to keep them at the viable minimum."
There is always an attempt to fish in murky water, and that is why the government intervened decisively and immediately, the acting Minister of Energy emphasized.
"In conversations with traders, producers, warehouses, and anyone who has a bearing on the topic. The truth is that even in countries where there is a fixed ceiling, for example in Croatia, the ceiling is quite high."
Regarding the actions of the independent regulators, Traykov commented:
"First of all, the CPC was spoken to, they have good expertise, but they are very slow. They do some lengthy sectoral analyses, which you usually read like you are looking in the rearview mirror. Our call to them is to intervene in this case very decisively. In addition, information can be coordinated between the CPC and the NRA and the "Customs". Why? Because "Customs knows at what prices the raw material enters for processing, and the NRA knows what the prices and margins are on the way to the pump. When all these institutions work together, the effect will be noticeable, even without throwing money.
Asked if lifting sanctions against Russia in this situation as a source of cheaper fuel is an option, Traykov replied:
"I don't think anyone could seriously talk about this now. The market was doing great without the sanctions being lifted. We're talking about taking 20 percent of production out because of a critical logistical barrier. The fact is that these fuels from the Persian Gulf weren't coming to Europe, they're mainly for Asia, now Asia is suffering the most, but by default this is happening globally. That's why we have a little bit of breathing room, but if we don't act decisively and quickly, the market will move somewhere higher."