In February 2022, it was declared through a signed Memorandum of Cooperation that Bulgaria will install 10,000 charging stations for electric vehicles (EVs) within five years, all sourced by renewable energy sources. This is one of the various goals of the Memorandum of Cooperation signed by the Electricity System Operator (ESO), the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria, the Branch Chamber of Power Engineers, the Electric Vehicles Association, the Electric Vehicles Industrial Cluster and the Electric Vehicle Owners Association in Bulgaria.

The comprehensive document envisages the construction of the 10,000 EV charging stations by the end of 2025 to ensure adequate infrastructure of charging stations for present and future electric vehicles. The ESO will provide access for connection of the constructed charging stations to its electricity transmission network.

The Bulgarian ESO currently operates 297 substations, which allows the charging infrastructure to be deployed at national scale through groups of slow and fast charging stations to serve electric cars, public transport and heavy load electric transport.

The forecast is that by 2030, the number of electric cars in Bulgaria will reach 200,000, and 600,000 MWh of electricity will be needed to cover their annual electricity consumption. By 2050, their number is projected to reach 3,500,000, which will require more than 10,000,000 MWh of electricity per year.

Currently, the car fleet in Bulgaria consumes liquid fuels, the equivalent of which is 45 million MWh. The mass influx of electric vehicles by 2050 will reduce the energy consumption in the transport sector by three times.

Over the next years, the partners shall exchange information on the state of the infrastructure, the current and expected need for locations and appropriate charging capacity, government and municipal decisions, as well as financial estimates of the resources needed to further develop this infrastructure.

The national charging infrastructure will promote the utilisation of electricity from renewable sources and the development of ecological transport throughout the country, including in settlements located far away from the main roads.