Origin of the additional costs in the Bulgarian power system: RES and highly efficient co-generation

In the past decade, the pricing on the Bulgarian electricity market has been characterized by the additional price component of 'obligations to society'. This is a price that is charged to all market participants. It is included in the regulated electricity prices and is paid as an additional component by the end-users on the free market segment. This price is calculated annually by the national regulatory authority and is a means to compensate for the additional non-market costs, provoked by feed-in tariff implementation for RES and co-generation plants, power purchase agreements existence, and a national policy of providing market share for a state-owned lignite-fired power plant. The present paper examines the additional costs, arising from RES and highly efficient co-generation's market participation. (author)