Energy Minister Stankov: We are uniting efforts to turn the challenges in the energy sector into new opportunities

Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov emphasized that the government is actively working to turn the challenges in the energy sector into opportunities. According to him, the production of green energy must be combined with measures to increase energy efficiency. Minister Stankov stated that the government is helping households in the battle against energy poverty, so that they can receive sustainable green energy.

The Energy Minister pointed out that the country has a unique chance to work on the establishment of a Decarbonization Fund, which will accumulate funds and direct them towards new projects. He made this statement during his participation in a panel dedicated to regional cooperation, infrastructure and connectivity, as part of the Green Transition Forum 5.0.

Minister Stankov joined the event online from Oslo, where he participated in an energy conference on the occasion of the launch of the Longship carbon capture, transport and storage network. He emphasized that preserving the competitiveness of businesses, increasing connectivity and securing energy supplies are key priorities for the Ministry of Energy.

In this context, the Minister focused on the efforts to implement projects that will help maintain affordable energy prices, produced during hours of lower consumption, for use during peak hours. These include four new pumped-storage hydropower plants, the RESTORE procedure for building batteries and others.

According to the Energy Minister, the barriers preventing Southeast European countries from benefiting from competitive energy prices in other parts of the continent can be overcome with a regional approach. He stated that the affected countries need to work together to address this challenge.

Deputy Minister Iva Petrova, participating in the forum, highlighted the efforts of the Ministry of Energy to ensure diversified supplies from trusted partners, regional partnership and network development for better connectivity. She stressed that these are key conditions for a better standard of living for household consumers and economic growth for businesses.

Iva Petrova emphasized the active work on the construction of the Vertical Gas Corridor, the country's participation in green corridors of regional importance, the restoration of the Chaira pumped-storage hydropower plant and the projects for new such facilities, which are strategic initiatives of paramount importance for addressing the challenges related to the volatility of energy prices.

Before the forum participants, Deputy Minister Petrova also stressed the active work to protect consumers - for businesses through automation and differentiation of the support mechanism, and for households through a sustainable reform to tackle energy poverty, including social protection and energy efficiency measures.