Household electricity and heating bills will not go up before 1 July 2027, deputy prime minister Atanas Pekanov told reporters at the 15th Annual Forum of the EU Strategy for the Danube Region at the Grand Hotel Millennium Sofia.

Prime minister Rumen Radev gave end users the same guarantee a week ago at the regular government meeting.

More on this story: Household electricity and heating prices to stay the same until 1 July 2027

The Energy System Security Fund protects households. "In part, there is nothing to be done, but we have made sure that end users feel no effect from it," Pekanov said. He said what happens next depends on international markets.

On European exchanges, natural gas has risen 30% in a month and 80% in three months. The price in Bulgaria, set the day before, is €58 per megawatt hour, against €95 on the exchanges. Pekanov said the Bulgarian price is about 40% lower, and the country is in a better position because of the system now in place.

The opposition wants the government to step into decisions by the energy regulator, the EWRC, to cap gas prices. Pekanov thinks this is wrong. He noted that the EWRC is an independent regulator.

The state is preparing better compensation for business, the deputy prime minister said. Energy-intensive firms already use two programmes, and there is also a more general compensation scheme. The energy ministry will meet company representatives this week, look at their proposals and try to find a way to get the money to firms faster.

Asked whether costly energy for business could push up inflation, Pekanov said the government is trying to stop these costs from passing into the prices of goods and services.

Bulgaria is negotiating changes to some EU rules that make electricity more expensive: the emissions trading system (ETS2) and the model used to set the price of electricity. It is talking to countries with similar views, including the Czech Republic, Austria and Poland.

Low water on the Danube is making work hard for some firms near Ruse and Svishtov, or has stopped it. Pekanov said they also face problems because of high electricity prices. He said this hits all of Europe and is a question of the competitiveness of the European economy.

The draft budget is due to be presented on Friday. Talks with the European Commission on some parameters are continuing, Pekanov said, but the substantive talks will only start after the draft is presented.