As global clean-technology value chains consolidate and the EU restructures its industrial, energy, and security architecture, Bulgaria must finally define a clear long-term national objective and align all major instruments behind it. The country's aspiration to become a regional energy transition leader hinges on strategic and consistent decisions that support the uptake and upscale of low-carbon technologies. Market liberalisation, a predictable regulatory framework and a transparent investment environment are key to unlocking the enormous untapped low-carbon potential of the country. It is already becoming a testing ground for the rapid deployment of energy storage systems, but regulatory and technical challenges are slowing down deployment.
These were some of the main conclusions of the roundtable discussion on Bulgaria's Energy Transformation – Accelerating Towards 2030, co-organised by the Center for the Study of Democracy (CSD) and the Association for Production, Storage and Trading of Electricity (APSTE) on 26 November 2025 in Sofia. The event brought together high-level representatives of state institutions, regulatory bodies, business, and the expert community, who discussed Bulgaria's progress towards decarbonisation and the necessary reforms to build a sustainable and secure energy system.
Zhecho Stankov, Minister of Energy, opened the discussion by emphasising that the energy transition includes both the gradual transformation of coal regions through diversified revenue streams, investments in batteries, and expansion of grid connectivity, as well as reducing household energy consumption through energy efficiency measures.
Plamen Mladenovski, Chairman of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, pointed out that to overcome the public fears about the liberalisation of the household market, a key energy transition reform will be to develop a regulatory sandbox to measure the likely effects on household bills, network stability, and market interactions, before their widespread implementation.
Angelin Tsachev, Executive Director of the Electricity System Operator, highlighted the strategic role of the East-West and North-South power transmission corridors and the potential for battery storage capacity and improved interconnectivity to transform Bulgaria into a regional electricity hub.
Business representatives from some of the fastest-growing renewable energy companies in South East Europe stressed that investments in renewable technologies are the main driver of the transformation of the Bulgarian energy market, with advances in energy storage already contributing to more stable prices, despite the lack of progress in the wind sector. The event united behind the idea that for Bulgaria to become a regional energy leader, it must adopt a systematic approach that combines political vision, market reforms, infrastructure development, industrial strategy, and active public participation.
