Bulgaria's electricity system operator ESO is preparing the national transmission grid for autumn and winter, the company said. It is spending more than €182m in 2026 on repairs, upgrades and connecting new sites to the grid.
More than 120 km of power lines have been built or rebuilt. Overhead lines were upgraded in Sofia region and around Plovdiv, Burgas, Shumen and Gorna Oryahovitsa, to make the system more reliable and let it carry more power.
Nearly 60 km of lines got new lightning-protection cables with optical fibres to replace the old ones. The strips under the overhead lines, known as rights of way, have been cleared over almost 11,000 decares.
This year the operator fully rebuilt and put into service open-air 110 kV switchgear at 110/20 kV substations. They are in 10 regions: Sofia, Kyustendil, Blagoevgrad, Pazardzhik, Smolyan, Haskovo, Pleven, Razgrad, Targovishte and Veliko Tarnovo. ESO says the upgrades make the grid more reliable, and that digital controls at the substations speed up the response to faults caused by bad weather.
On 7 October, energy minister Iva Petrova said power facilities were ready for winter. She said legal requirements are being met and, where needed, task forces have been set up to respond to crises and faults.
ESO has provided special equipment for emergency repairs and for reaching hard-to-access terrain. Mobile crews have been given communication gear, tools and winter clothing.