Bulgaria Electricity Tariff API

How a household electricity price is built in Bulgaria

Bulgaria is the most regulated household market covered here. Wholesale trading and business supply are liberalized, but households have continued to buy at prices the regulator sets for a July-to-June regulatory year, from the incumbent supplier tied to the region they live in. Three regional groups cover the country. A gradual deregulation of household prices has been legislated and repeatedly postponed, so the practical picture for a household is still a regulated tariff rather than a chosen offer.

What a household bill is made of

1. 1

   Energy

   For a household on the regulated tariff, the energy price is set by the regulator per regional supplier rather than formed on the exchange, and is normally published in two forms: a single flat rate and a day/night pair. The wholesale market underneath is a fully liberalized day-ahead exchange, but its price only reaches households indirectly, through the annual regulatory review.

2. 2

   Network charges

   Transmission and distribution fees, plus access fees, set by the regulator per distribution zone — so the network half of the bill depends on which of the three regional operators serves the address. On the regulated tariff these are itemized separately from the energy price.

3. 3

   Taxes and levies

   The distinctive item is the "obligation to society" charge, which funds long-term power-purchase and renewable-support commitments. For customers who have moved to the free market it appears as its own line; on the regulated tariff it is folded into the price. An electricity excise duty exists but households are effectively relieved of it.

4. 4

   VAT

   20%, the standard rate, on the whole bill. Bulgaria adopted the euro on 1 January 2026, so prices that were historically quoted in leva now appear in euro at the fixed conversion rate.

Regulation shaping the price

• The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission sets household prices, network tariffs and the obligation-to-society charge for a regulatory year running from 1 July.
• Households are supplied by the incumbent tied to their distribution territory unless they actively switch to a free-market contract.
• Full household deregulation is legislated as a phased transition and has been deferred more than once — the direction of travel is toward market pricing with a regulated safety net.
• A protected-customer regime shields vulnerable households from the transition to market prices.