Bulgarian battery fees raise storage costs, Basel warns

Product fees on industrial batteries used for electricity storage are about 14 times higher in Bulgaria than in Romania, at approximately EUR 2.81 per kg compared with EUR 0.20 per kg, the Bulgarian Association of Electrical Engineering and Electronics (BASEL) said on Monday.

The disparity places Bulgarian companies at a competitive disadvantage and raises the cost of investment in electricity storage systems, BASEL said, CE Report quotes BTA.

At the beginning of 2024, Bulgaria had virtually no battery-storage capacity. By May 2026, installed capacity had reached 8.6 GWh.

BASEL Chair Dimitar Beleliev said product fees should reflect actual collection, treatment and recycling costs rather than become a hidden burden on businesses and consumers.

BASEL proposes a separate fee of EUR 0.30 per kg for industrial lithium-ion batteries used in stationary storage systems. The fee would apply only to the weight of the battery cells and modules, not to the entire system, which can also include containers, inverters, transformers, cables, fire-protection equipment, air-conditioning systems and other components.

BASEL’s second proposal calls for stronger enforcement against companies that fail to declare equipment or pay the required fees. The relevant Regional Inspectorate of Environment and Water should conduct a document-based inspection whenever it receives a report that a company is placing electrical and electronic equipment on the market without meeting its obligations, the association said. The measure would help curb non-compliance and improve the collection of product fees.

BASEL supports the proposed rules for electrical and electronic equipment but says they must be fair. It argues that each company should pay in proportion to the waste generated by its products, that fee avoidance should be prevented and that product fees on photovoltaic panels, inverters and batteries should be reduced.

The Ministry of Environment and Water published an updated draft of amendments to the Ordinance on the Procedure and Amount of Product Fees on August 17, nearly three months after the original public consultation ended.

BASEL said the Ministry had omitted batteries from the latest draft, leaving the matter for a future amendment without setting a deadline.

“Proposals from businesses cannot simply be postponed indefinitely. Bulgaria needs predictable and fair product fees that meet environmental objectives without imposing a hidden burden on businesses and consumers,” Beleliev said.

Photo: Energo-Pro