BGN 15 fee proposed for electric meters

The State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) is expected to allow electricity distribution companies to introduce the capacity fee demanded by them, the regulator’s Chairman, Angel Semerdjiev, said yesterday. The so-called “electric meter fee” has been proposed by two of the electricity distribution companies in Bulgaria - EVN and E.ON, which claim that they spend money on maintaining the electricity grid of real estates, such as villas, where electricity is not used all the time.

EVN has proposed an annual fee of BGN 15 for servicing these electric meters. According to Semerdjiev, the exact fee to be charged is not known yet but it is expected that it will be distributed among all consumers. He also said that EU countries charge a certain amount for capacity and it is significantly higher than the one proposed in Bulgaria. SEWRC’s head added that the new fee is charged even now but as part of the price for access to the power grid.

If this proposal is accepted, the fee will be entered separately in subscribers’ billing invoices. The fee will be higher for business users but it is yet to be calculated.
The tariff will not affect the earnings of companies. If EVN’s proposal is accepted, it will affect approximately 20% of the housing in our country. Thus, as of July, customers will have to pay BGN 1.80 additionally for power each month.