US power generator AES is interested in acquiring Enel’s majority stake in Bulgaria’s Maritsa East 3 coal-fired power plant.
“We are considering that investment,” said Peter Lithgow, the managing director of AES’s Bulgarian unit, in an interview for the Bloomberg agency. “What they have on offer is of interest to us. It all depends on the investment conditions.” In March, Enel executive director Fulvio Conti confirmed that the company was considering the sale of its 73% stake in Maritsa East 3, saying that it was not happy with the results on the Bulgarian market. British utility International Power and Austria’s EVN are also said to have shown interest in acquiring Enel’s stake. Talks with potential bidders are believed to have already started.
AES is currently building the 1.3 billion euros power plant Maritsa East 1, in the Martisa East mining and power generation complex in southeastern Bulgaria.
A year ago Enel increased the capacity of Maritsa East 3 from 840 to 908 MW and also installed desulphurisation equipment on the plant’s four units.
At present the Italian state owns a 27% stake in the plant. The likelihood of a sale were increased recently when Energy and Economy minister Traicho Traikov announced that the state could make 200 million euros from the sale of its stake in the plant.
