| © ICIS HEREN - Bulgarian electricity borders could shut for two weeks - ministry |
| 2012-01-23 |
| Bulgaria`s electricity grid borders will remain closed until fuel reserves are restored, which could take up to two weeks. However, traders are expecting normal flows by February.
The strike at the coal and lignite mine supplying the 1.6GW Maritsa East coal-fired unit and surrounding plants, ended on Sunday (22nd January) night with work resuming on Monday (23rd January), a Maritsa East spokeswoman confirmed on Monday. However, Bulgarian grid operator ESO closed the borders of the electricity grid on Friday (20th January) until the reserves at the coal-fired power plants are restored (see EDEM 20 January 2012). The restoration could take up to two weeks, according to a spokeswoman from the Bulgarian energy ministry. According to Bulgarian traders, restoring the reserves is a matter of days and it should take less than two weeks. "I don`t think there will be any disruptions in February," one trader said. Data on ESO`s website showed that there were transit cross-border flows to Serbia, Macedonia and Greece on Monday (23rd January). The closure of the Bulgarian grid to imports and exports has led to spikes on regional power exchanges, with Day-ahead Baseload outturning at €100.08/MWh on Hungary`s HUPX, and Romania`s OPCOM settling at New Lei 347.46/MWh (€79.93/MWh). A termless strike at Maritsa East mines started on 15 January after negotiations between the trade union and Maritsa East management had been open for over a month. The workers were asking for additional bonuses for 2011 and improved working conditions (see EDEM 16 January 2012). The opposing parties reached an agreement on Sunday night and the strikers signed a binding contract to resume work immediately, the Maritsa East spokeswoman said. (THE ICIS HEREN REPORTS - EDEM 16015 / 23 January 2012) |
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