US companies AES and ContourGlobal, which operate two thermal power
plants (TPPs) in Bulgaria, owe state-owned mining complex Mini Maritsa Iztok a
combined 140 - 170 million levs ($81 - 99 million/72 - 87 million euro) in
overdue payments, Bulgaria's energy minister said.
AES, which operates
the Maritza Iztok 1 coal-fired plant, and ContourGlobal, which owns Maritza
Iztok 3 TPP, stand to receive a total of 600 million levs in overdue payments
from state-run electricity company NEK, which is why they have stopped paying
Mini Maritsa Iztok for coal supplies, a press release of the energy ministry
quoted Temenuzhka Petkova as saying on Friday.
Under a memorandum of
understanding which NEK and the two US companies signed on Friday, the
state-owned power utility has pledged to pay back its liabilities to the two
TPPs. For their part, ContourGlobal and AES agreed to a decrease in the prices
at which NEK buys electricity produced by the two companies' TPPs.
The
two TPPs, owned by ContourGlobal and AES, are part of the country's largest
energy complex Maritsa Iztok, located in the southeastern region of Stara
Zagora. The complex hosts lignite coal mines and three coal-fired power plants.
ContourGlobal acquired a majority stake in the Maritsa Iztok 3 TPP from Italy's
Enel in June 2011. AES launched the Maritza Iztok 1 power plant in
2011.
NEK and Mini Maritsa Iztok are a 100%-subsidiaries of
state-operated Bulgarian Energy Holding.