Second Bulgarian power link pact inked
Greece has signed a deal to set up a second connection linking its power grid with Bulgaria in a bid to boost the country’s power system, the Development Ministry said yesterday. Greece has been hooking up with power networks in Southeast Europe, such as Turkey and Albania, to boost supply of the country’s electricity system, which struggles to meet soaring demand in the hotter summer months. Development Minister Christos Folias signed an initial agreement for the electricity connection with Bulgaria’s Economy and Energy Minister Petar Dimitrov in Sofia and said the final deal should be ready by the end of the year. «Greece is committed to contributing toward the fastest possible implementation of the Maritsa-Nea Santa connection,» he told a conference in the Bulgarian capital. Development Ministry sources said the 400-kilowatt power connection is expected to start operating soon but did not give any specific time frame. In July, Turkey agreed to supply Greece with up to 200 megawatts of electricity as part of a two-year energy exchange agreement between the two neighbors. In the summer, Greece imports electricity from Italy, Bulgaria and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM) and is an exporter, mainly to Albania, when demand on the domestic grid drops.
