Bulgaria must be prepared for measures against fuel price increases, but there should be no rush for now. This was stated to bTV by the former Minister of Energy and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Association of Industrial Capital in Bulgaria, Rumen Radev. According to him, at the moment the more serious problem for business is not liquid fuels, but high electricity prices.
The topic of possible compensation for people and businesses due to the war in the Middle East and the increase in the price of energy resources remains on the agenda. According to Rumen Radev, however, an accurate assessment of the situation must first be made.
“I think that we should and it is good to be prepared for measures, to think about in which direction any transitions would be held“, he said.
According to him, it is still not entirely clear how exactly low-income groups will be supported if the state goes in this direction.
“We are most likely making some kind of more general aggregate calculation. I assume that it is also something related to the experience we have in providing assistance, such as energy aid“, he commented.
Radev drew attention to the fact that one of the big questions is how such measures will be administered in practice.
According to him, since the beginning of the escalation around Iran, the growth in crude oil has been significant, but this has not been transferred to the same extent to final prices in our country.
“We are talking about an approximately 35-37% increase in the price of Brent. In Bulgaria, gasoline has actually increased in price from 1.26 euros to 1.36 euros today. The increase in diesel is higher – 19 euro cents“, he said.
Radev stressed that despite this, Bulgarian prices still remain below the levels in other EU countries.
“And the current prices in Bulgaria continue to be lower than the old ones, which were in the rest of Europe“, he said.
According to him, different European countries are already implementing different models – from price ceilings to administrative restrictions.
“We are looking at what the countries are doing. There is a daily price ceiling in Germany, there is also a price ceiling in Croatia and Hungary“, he said.
However, Rumen Radev made it clear that at this point he sees no reason for immediate intervention of this type in our country.
The Chairman of the Bulgarian Energy Industry Association was categorical that business in Bulgaria is more concerned about electricity prices than fuel prices.
“For us, as a business, the deviations in electricity prices are much more significant. We have permanently higher electricity prices compared to the rest, especially the central part of Europe.“, he said.
According to him, even at the moment Bulgaria is at significantly higher levels than countries such as Germany and France.
“We have about twice the price“, he pointed out.
Radev emphasized that for households the situation is different, because the price of electricity for them remains regulated and subsidized.
According to Rumen Radev, the markets are currently reacting most strongly to the risk of the conflict prolonging, as well as to the danger to traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
“The markets are reacting extremely sensitively to the topic of duration“, he said and added - “For example, mining the Strait of Hormuz should not be allowed, for the simple reason that mines do not distinguish between one or other court“.