The evolution in energy production and consumption is becoming increasingly visible in the country’s energy balance data. The long-standing implementation of European policies in national legislation, the impact of fuel market prices, geopolitical tensions, and the national understanding of low-carbon transition and energy investments are setting new directions for the development of the energy sector. Consumers are gradually changing the type and quantity of energy resources and energy they use.
The country’s energy balance provodes opportunity for measurement of changes in fuel production, the efficiency of conversion processes, and the final energy consumption of various economic agents—industry, transport, trade and services, households, etc.—in 2024.
Not all trends and changes can be covered by the balance sheet. Methodologies need to be developed to accurately account for the production and consumption of electricity and heat for own use, so that the effectiveness of the policies implemented and the investments made in low-carbon technologies can be more clearly monitored. The wider introduction of smart meters is also important for measuring energy for own use.
The data published at the end of November this year, with a high degree of detail, visualize both sporadic and sustained changes in the country’s energy balance in 2024.
Key Highlights 2024
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Primary energy production reached its lowest historical level, driven by the continued decline of coal.
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Total energy supply required to meet domestic demand remained extremely close to its 25-year minimum.
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Final electricity consumption emerged from a two-year stagnation and reached a new historical peak of 2,702.7 ktoe.
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Industrial energy consumption showed signs of recovery, accompanied by growing interest in renewable energy sources.
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The transport sector recorded another significant increase—around 220 ktoe—and set a new record in final energy consumption.
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After a third consecutive year of decline, household energy consumption fell below 2,000 ktoe, reaching its lowest level in the past 25 years, while electricity consumption continued to rise.
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Energy intensity declined below 0.300 toe per EUR 1,000 of GDP (2015 = 100).
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Primary Energy Production: The Retreat of Coal
After an unprecedented decline of 19.6% in 2023, primary energy production fell by a further 8.9%, reaching its lowest level in 25 years – 9,633 ktoe.
This significant change in the energy balance was mainly the result of a sharp decline in coal production, which fell by over 56% in two years. Lignite and hard coal production is generally intended for electricity generation and its use for this purpose in 2024 was half the average for the ten-year period 2014–2023.
At the same time, renewable energy sources, reported by national statistics as used in the production of electricity and heat, increased by 6.4% compared to the previous year.
After a sharp decline in 2023, imports and exports of energy fuels and products were gradually recovering at a moderate pace. As in previous years, it was trade in oil and oil products – due to its dominant share – that set the main direction of energy imports and exports.
The total energy supplied to cover domestic consumption amounted to 17,043.1 ktoe, a level very close to the 25-year low recorded in 2013.
Graph: EMI based on NSI data
Fuels for non-energy purposes
Final non-energy consumption includes fuels used as raw materials or converted into other fuels without being directly burned for energy (e.g., natural gas for the production of artificial fertilizers). Today, the amount of fuel used for non-energy purposes is half what it was at the beginning of the millennium.
Over the past five years, non-energy consumption has fluctuated between 400 and 500 thousand tonnes. Oil and oil products accounted for 60% of this, followed by natural gas with 26% and coal with 14%. By comparison, in 2023 oil and oil products accounted for 84.6% of final non-energy consumption in the EU.
Final energy consumption rose moderately
After a two-year decline, final energy consumption changed direction and started to rise moderately. Growth was observed in all types of energy resources and energy, with the exception of RES.
Although final coal consumption grew by 4%, in absolute terms it remained low – below 250 ktoe. Over ten years, consumption of oil and oil products increased by 22%. New records were set almost every year, including 2024, and the transport sector remained the driving force behind this growth.
The downward trend in final natural gas consumption was interrupted. A significant increase of 8.9% was recorded, but in absolute terms (1,090 ktoe) the levels remained modest compared to better years, when they exceeded 1,300 ktoe.
Final heat consumption managed to avoid a further decline and remained close to last year’s level of 545.4 ktoe. Since 2018, heat consumption remained steadily below 600 ktoe, and values of 800–900 ktoe seem difficult to recover given the lack of sustainable policies for the modernization and development of heat supply in Bulgaria.
Final electricity consumption reached a new peak of 2,702.7 ktoe, supported by increased interest in the trade and services sector and households.
A steady decline in the final energy consumption of RES for energy purposes was observed after the peak in 2020 (1,550.3 thousand toe) due probably to the reduced consumption of biomass (wood material) for heating.
Graph: EMI based on NSI data
Industrial consumption: interest in RES
Final energy consumption in industry reached 2,594.8 ktoe, showing a slight recovery of 2.1%, but remaining below the average level for the past ten years (2,690 ktoe). The increase was mainly due to the growth in energy consumption in the chemical and petrochemical industries, as well as in non-ferrous metallurgy.
Energy consumption from renewable sources in industry exceeded 300 ktoe for the first time. Within 25 years, it increased more than ninefold, clearly outlining the long-term trend towards decarbonisation.
At the same time, electricity consumption in industry declined for the third consecutive year and get closed to the ten-year low recorded in 2015 (776.7 tkoe).
Transport’s energy appetite for oil fuels and products continued to grow
After 2010, final energy consumption in the transport sector declined in only two years – 2013 and 2020. The sector added new growth of 6.3% to its extremely stable upward trend and once again reached a new historical peak of 3,748.7 ktoe. The main driver of this growth remained the consumption of petroleum products in road transport.
Although still insignificant compared to the dominant consumption of petroleum products, there seem to be signs of change in the use of electricity in the transport sector. For the first time in more than 15 years, the country’s energy balance showed consumption of over 40 ktoe. However, the share of electricity in final transport consumption was still negligible – only 1.1%. According to the WAM scenario in NPEC, it should reach 9% in 2030.
The share of RES and biofuels in transport continued to hover around 5% of the sector’s total consumption – a level that remained far below even the previous target of a 10% share of RES in 2020. At this stage, the updated national target of a 29.93% share of RES in transport by 2030 currently seems difficult to achieve.
Trade and services restore energy consumption
With a 4.4% increase, energy consumption in the trade and public services sector partially offset the decline from the previous year. Similar to the transport sector, negative changes were relatively rare here. In 2024, final energy consumption reached 1,320 ktoe, with electricity accounting for a dominant share of 55%.
Household energy consumption fell to historic low, but electricity consumption continued to rise inexorably
Household energy consumption fell below 2,000 ktoe, reaching a historic low of 1,961.5 ktoe. This was due to reduced consumption of renewable energy sources (-22%), thermal energy (-4.4%), and coal (-7.7%).
The consumption of RES and biofuels declined for the fourth consecutive year, falling below 500 ktonnes, which was almost half the level in 2020. If this was related to restrictions on the consumption of solid biomass (e.g., firewood), the trend should be considered positive.
Final coal consumption by households has almost disappeared from the energy balance – only about 12.9 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent, compared to about 200 thousand tonnes of oil equivalent more than 10 years ago. Given the drive for cleaner air and municipal policies to limit coal use, this trend is also positive for society.
At the same time, household electricity consumption continued to grow, reaching a new record in 2024 – 1,110 ktoe.
Graph: EMI based on NSI data
Energy intensity was improving, but the gap to EU average levels remained large
As part of the national priority to improve energy efficiency, changes in energy intensity indicators and the ratio between final and primary energy consumption are subject to systematic monitoring.
Energy intensity is defined as the amount of energy required to achieve a given level of production or economic activity. Using less energy to produce a product or provide a service results in lower energy intensity. Improvements in this indicator are due to various factors, including the transition to a service-oriented economy, the closure of energy-intensive and inefficient production units, and the use of more energy-efficient technologies and appliances.
In 2024, the country’s energy intensity amounted to around 0.295 toe per €1,000 GDP (2015 = 100). This represents a significant improvement over the last 25 years, given the extremely high starting levels. Bulgaria is the only EU country whose energy intensity in 2000 exceeded 0.600 toe per 1,000 euro GDP.
Graph: EMI based on NSI data
Despite structural changes in the economy, the value of the indicator remained significantly above the European Union average, which in 2024 was around 0.098 t n.e. per 1,000 euros of GDP.
The ratio between final and primary energy consumption illustrates what proportion of the energy products used reaches end users after conversion and transmission processes. In 2024, this indicator reached 59.4%, which represents a further improvement compared to previous years. The main reason for this was the reduction in losses in conversion processes, mainly due to the lower use of coal in electricity production. For comparison, the corresponding indicator for the European Union is 74% (2023).
Another indicator that is usually included in the assessment of economic and energy development is energy dependence. It shows the extent to which an economy depends on imports to meet its energy needs. In Bulgaria, for the first time since 2010, it has returned to higher levels of over 40%. According to the WAM scenario in NPEC, the country’s dependence on energy imports will increase to 43.8% in 2030, after which a decrease to 4.9% is expected in 2050.
