In the last days of May 2024, Dr. Mariya Trifonova, Chief Assistant Professor at the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration and Deputy Director of Net-Zero Lab participated in the annual edition of Burgas Connectivity Forum, organized by the Konrad Adenauer Stiftung foundation.

This year's forum included the topic of the connectivity of European energy systems. The Faculty of Economics and Business Administration presented current research on the integration of energy markets in the region and Europe, the effectiveness of regulatory mechanisms, and the challenges of physical connectivity of energy networks.

"Today's European electricity and gas markets are still very young and developing", explained Dr. Trifonova. "They have undergone transformation, liberalization, and integration since the early 1990s to increase energy supply efficiency, reduce costs, minimize pollution, and improve reliability. The creation of a single energy market, or the so-called European Energy Union, is a political project that is gaining increasing importance, especially with the inclusion of a larger share of renewable energy sources. It is crucial not only for EU countries but also for Black Sea region and Western Balkans countries, which have committed as Energy Community members to transpose European legislation in this area by the end of 2023 and join the European Energy Union".

Dr. Trifonova presented data and commented on the following trends:

• The energy crisis that began in 2022 reminded European governments of the resilience provided by relatively well-integrated European electricity markets.
• Better-integrated European markets have achieved fuel cost savings of around 10% compared to isolated markets. With the increasing share of renewable energy sources, these savings could double to 21% by 2030.
• At the same time, integrated markets reduce the volatility of electricity prices.
• Utilizing funds from the Just Transition Fund, the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, and the Modernization Fund, we see new energy production capacities being built in the region, which carry the risk of oversupply. Meanwhile, projects that contribute to greater flexibility and connectivity of energy systems are being sidelined due to lack of coordination, long implementation periods, or because the main beneficiaries do not represent the interests of decentralized small consumers.
• If we want the energy transition to succeed, we cannot overlook the need to expand, digitalize, and better utilize the EU's transmission and distribution networks.

The presented presentation can be found here.

Read more about the event here.