Household consumers enter the free electricity market in 2026, Parliament decides

On January 1, 2026, household consumers will enter the free electricity market. This was conclusively decided by the Parliament by adopting amendments to the Energy Act at second reading on October 5.

The amendments foresee that from 1 July next year National Electricity Company will cease its activity as a public supplier for households. From that date, the utilities regulator, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC), will no longer set monthly quotas for the electricity produced for the regulated market on which the household consumers have been.

Households will be supplied by the three electricity distribution companies, which will buy electricity at power exchange prices. The difference between the market prices (which currently average around BGN 250 per megawatt hour) and the regulated ones (which are now around BGN 115 per megawatt hour) will be covered by the Energy Security Fund from 1 July 2024 to 31 December 2025, while the EWRC will continue to set the price of electricity for households during the transition period.