Bulgaria's electricity balance stabilizes as exports stop

Bulgaria's electricity balance has stabilized since the country stopped exporting electricity as of midnight on February 10, announced Bulgarian Minister of Economy, Energy, and Tourism Traicho Traikov. "By terminating the exports of electricity, Bulgaria benefitted with the stability of its own system," Traikov told Darik Radio Saturday. On February, Bulgaria's government discontinued all electricity exports in order to make up for the increased domestic electricity consumption caused by the freezing temperatures over the past couple of weeks. According to Traikov, Bulgaria's annual electricity exports equal 1000 MW but in early February the cold weather strained the country's energy capacity. A day earlier, on Friday, the Energy Minister did say that Bulgaria was not faced with an electricity shortage but that the termination of exports was a necessary measure. On Saturday Traikov commented that Bulgaria's energy system has not been built in a way facilitating the export of electricity. "We are actually exporting just what we have as production surpluses," he said. Bulgaria traditionally exports electricity to Greece and Macedonia; in 2011, electricity exports to Turkey were resumed after an 8-year pause.