site.btaParliamentary Committee on Energy Passes 2026 State Budget Bill at First Reading

The Parliamentary Committee on Energy adopted the 2026 State Budget Bill at first reading on Thursday with 11 votes in favour, four against and one abstention.

In view of the euro changeover on January 1, 2026, all budget documentation has been prepared in euro, using the official conversion rate under the Euro Introduction Act: BGN 1.95583 per EUR 1.

Energy Minister Zhecho Stankov said that his Ministry's planned revenues amount to EUR 193 million and expenditures to EUR 41 million, making the Ministry a net contributor to the State Budget. He noted that the energy section of the draft reflects the Ministry’s submissions.

The Bill includes increased concession revenues and provisions for state guarantees to support key projects of state-owned companies such as Bulgartransgaz, the National Electricity Company and the Bulgarian Energy Holding, Stankov added.

Responding to a question from Continue the Change - Democratic Bulgaria (CC-DB) MP Radoslav Ribarski about support for energy-poor households, Stankov said that, in line with the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, the Energy Ministry, together with the Labour and Social Policy Ministry and the Ministry of e-Government, has begun developing the necessary software. Targeted support can be provided only once beneficiaries meet the energy-poverty definition adopted by Parliament, he said. He added that long-term measures reducing households’ energy costs are preferable to one-off social payments.