България изостава с просюмърите, смята д-р инж. Димитър Белелиев
March 11, 2026
Prosumer households and businesses – those that both produce and consume energy – are critically lagging in Bulgaria and must become a priority. This was stated by Dimitar Beleliev, PhD, Chairman of the Bulgarian Association of Electrical Engineering and Electronics (BASEL), at the Regional Energy Summit, according to the organization.
According to him, focusing on small and medium-sized renewable energy projects, rather than large power plants, is the right path forward for the country.
Prosumers represent a missed opportunity for a stable energy system. Bulgaria ranks among the top countries in Europe in terms of renewable energy installations per capita, yet the share of prosumers remains too low. They could provide long-term resilience to the energy system, as distributed generation facilitates network management at the micro level, which is the essence of the smart grid concept, Beleliev noted.
“It’s much easier to manage a system when you rely on prosumers. A smart grid is essentially just managing things at a micro level,” commented the association’s chairman, as cited in the announcement.
Despite Bulgaria’s favorable geographic position and relatively developed network infrastructure, the country is still not ready to attract large-scale foreign investment in data centers. Beleliev outlined three essential conditions. The first is energy security. According to him, solar panels and batteries alone are insufficient; rotating energy – a nuclear plant, a coal plant on reserve, or gas – is needed to ensure system stability.
The second condition is political security and predictability. A major international investor must clearly understand Bulgaria’s geopolitical orientation. Uncertainty about the direction – Western Europe, the U.S., or Russia – deters significant capital, Beleliev noted.
The third condition is military security. For a large investor, regional stability is at least as important as tax regimes or grid connectivity. The Dubai example is telling: hundreds of billions in data centers and real estate can lose substantial value within minutes in the event of regional instability, he explained.
“We have the technological data for business development. Administrative procedures must be streamlined so that investors can come and know their business will move forward,” Beleliev concluded.
Source: BTA
