Bulgaria Govt Boosts Energy Holding with BGN 400 M for Anti-Crisis Measures

by Sofia News Agency www.novinite.com

Bulgaria's cabinet decided Thursday to increase the capital of the Bulgarian Energy Holding (BEH) by BGN 400 M as a precaution against the potential effects of the global financial crisis, and in order to prepare the merger of the Sofia Heating Utility Company into the holding. The official statement of the BEH issued Friday underscored the fact that the additional BGN 400 M transferred to its capital from the state budget would be used for anti-crisis measures. BGN 160 M will be used to cover any losses that the Bulgarian natural gas provider Bulgargaz would suffer from the rescheduling of debts of Bulgarian businesses at the beginning of 2009. In this way, the effects on Bulgarian businesses of the expected natural gas price increase in 2009 amidst the global financial crisis would be mitigated, the BEH statement points out. The remaining BGN 240 M would be used to prepare the merger of the Sofia Heating Utility Company "Toplofikatsiya" into the BEH. BGN 80 M of these would be used to cover the heating company's debts to Bulgargaz. The other BGN 160 M would be poured into Toplofikatsiya in order to increase its capital in anticipation of the merger. However, the merger would become possible only after sanctions of Bulgaria's Competition Protection Commission and the State Agency for Energy and Water Regulation, which are expected in the coming weeks. The Sofia Municipality recently decided to transfer all of its shares of the Sofia Heating Utility Company to the Bulgarian state in order to let the government assume responsibility for the restructuring of the troubled company, which had been shaken by scandals about public funds abuse in the recent years. The Sofia Heating Utility Company is the largest public heating utility in Bulgaria. It produces over 1 billion kW/h of electricity per year, and has a capacity of 3 000 MW of heating, and 280 MW of electricity production. The Bulgarian Energy Holding was created in 2008 with the merger of five state-owned companies - the National Electric Company NEK, the gas monopoly Bulgargaz, the Maritza Iztok Mines, the Maritza Iztok 2 Thermal Plant, and the Kozloduy Nuclear Power Plant into a EUR 4 B energy giant. The Sofia Heating Utility "Toplofikatsiya" will be the sixth Bulgarian energy giant to join the holding. In October 2008 the government increased the capital of BEH by another BGN 300 M in order to speed up the construction of the country's second nuclear power plant at Belene, which will be run by the National Electric Company NEK.

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