The Bulgarian government has approved a new stimulus package, aimed at partially compensating businesses hit by surging electricity and gas prices: Bulgaria will cover 80% of electricity prices for businesses that come above BGN200/MWh (€102/MWh) for the May-June 2022 period. In addition, the country will fully cover the 14% increase in natural gas prices in May 2022 after Gazprom stopped its supplies.
Previously, the government froze regulated electricity prices for households at their levels from July 2021 and compensated companies for high energy costs since October 2021. In April 2022, Gazprom halted gas supplies to Bulgaria under the Yamal contract, due to absence of payment in roubles as of 1 April 2022, as requested by the company. Bulgaria depends on Russian gas imports for most of its gas supply: the 3 bcm/year Russian gas imports cover around 90% of Bulgaria's gas demand.
The country, whose 10-year gas supply agreement with Gazprom expires at the end of 2022, had already announced that it would not seek to renew it. The country should receive the support of neighbouring Greece, with whom Bulgaria is interconnected; however, delays in gas pipeline construction have prevented Bulgaria to import through Greece 1 bcm/year of Azeri gas that it has contracted. The Bulgarian government has now announced that it would receive the full agreed amount of 1 bcm/year from Azerbaijan, regardless of whether the Greece-Bulgaria interconnection is operational, using all possible alternative routes.