site.btaPlatform Proposes Ten Measures to Improve Electricity Market Efficiency

Ten measures to improve the efficiency of Bulgaria’s electricity market and to rationalize household electricity costs were presented by the Klimateka platform at a BTA press conference here on Tuesday.

The proposals were outlined by platform contributors Maria Trifonova, a lecturer at Sofia University, and Genady Kondarev, an economist and expert in climate and energy policies.

The measures target both the retail and wholesale electricity markets, with five proposals for each segment.

For the retail market, the proposals include full market integration and strengthening the rights of active consumers, large-scale energy efficiency and building renovation programmes, digitalization and mass deployment of smart meters, decentralization and local energy production and consumption, and targeted social support mechanisms that do not distort the market.

Measures for the wholesale market focus on accelerating wind energy development, improving market design through bilateral contracts for difference for new low-carbon capacities, enhancing regional integration in Southeast Europe, clarifying the role of the state with a focus on network infrastructure investment, and unlocking system flexibility through regulatory recognition and removal of barriers to energy storage and demand management.

Trifonova and Kondarev also advocated full liberalization of the electricity market, including the participation of household consumers, arguing that this would improve market liquidity, price signals and demand management.

They said households would benefit from greater price transparency, better control over costs, incentives for energy efficiency and self-generation, access to innovative products, and increased energy independence.

Kondarev noted that households currently do not use electricity efficiently, as peak consumption occurs in the morning and evening when renewable energy production is limited, and called for measures to encourage behavioural change.

The organizers said the press conference also aimed to counter widespread misconceptions about the electricity market amid high electricity bills at the beginning of 2026 and the politicization of the issue ahead of elections.