Early Warning System

Regions

Europe and Central Asia

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Countries

Bulgaria

Geographic location where the impacts of the investment may be experienced.

Financial Institutions

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

International, regional and national development finance institutions. Many of these banks have a public interest mission, such as poverty reduction.

Project Status

Approved

Stage of the project cycle. Stages vary by development bank and can include: pending, approval, implementation, and closed or completed.

Bank Risk Rating

Environmental and social categorization assessed by the development bank as a measure of the planned project’s environmental and social impacts. A higher risk rating may require more due diligence to limit or avoid harm to people and the environment. For example, "A" or "B" are risk categories where "A" represents the highest amount of risk. Results will include projects that specifically recorded a rating, all other projects are marked ‘U’ for "Undisclosed."

Voting Date

May 7, 2025

Date when project documentation and funding is reviewed by the Board for consideration and approval. Some development banks will state a "board date" or "decision date." When funding approval is obtained, the legal documents are accepted and signed, the implementation phase begins.

Borrower

Eastern European Electric Company B.V.

A public entity (government or state-owned) provided with funds or financial support to manage and/or implement a project.

Sectors

Energy
Infrastructure

The service or industry focus of the investment. A project can have several sectors.

Investment Type(s)

Loan

The categories of the bank investment: loan, grant, guarantee, technical assistance, advisory services, equity and fund.

Investment Amount (USD)

$ 56.53 million

Value listed on project documents at time of disclosure. If necessary, this amount is converted to USD ($) on the date of disclosure. Please review updated project documents for more information.
Currency conversion note:
Bank reported 50
Converted using 2025-05-07 exchange rate.

Loan Amount (USD)

$ 56.53 million

Project Cost (USD)

$ 655.70 million

Primary Source

Original disclosure @ EBRD website

Updated in EWS Jun 9, 2025

Disclosed by Bank May 19, 2025

Contribute Information
Can you contribute information about this project?
Contact the EWS Team

Project Description

If provided by the financial institution, the Early Warning System Team writes a short summary describing the purported development objective of the project and project components. Review the complete project documentation for a detailed description.

As stated by the EBRD, the project consists of an investment of EUR 50 million in the EUR 500 million senior secured bond issuance by Eastern European Electric Company B.V. (EEEC), which priced on 8 May 2025. The bonds were issued and admitted to trading on the Euro MTF Market of the Luxembourg Stock Exchange on 15 May 2025.

In line with Bulgaria's decarbonisation objectives, EEEC will allocate an amount equivalent to the proceeds of the bonds purchased by EBRD to finance the capex program at Electrodistribution Grid West (EDG West) during the five-year lifetime of the bond. The capex program is dedicated to electricity grid modernisation, including smart meter installations, underground electricity line upgrades, and new/retroactive grid connection financing for renewable assets, among other upgrades. These upgrades are expected to contribute to climate change mitigation efforts and result in up to 194GWh of energy savings per annum due to the implementation of new smart meters.

Investment Description

Here you can find a list of individual development financial institutions that finance the project.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Private Actors Description

A Private Actor is a non-governmental body or entity that is the borrower or client of a development project, which can include corporations, private equity and banks. This describes the private actors and their roles in relation to the project, when private actor information is disclosed or has been further researched.

As stated by the EBRD, EEEC, an existing client of the Bank, is a leader in Bulgaria's electricity distribution market, with significant market share in electricity distribution, supply and trading. EEEC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Eurohold Bulgaria AD.

Private Actor 1	Private Actor 1 Role	Private Actor 1 Sector	Relation	Private Actor 2	Private Actor 2 Role	Private Actor 2 Sector
-	-	-	-	Eastern European Electric Company B.V.	Client	Energy

Contact Information

This section aims to support the local communities and local CSO to get to know which stakeholders are involved in a project with their roles and responsibilities. If available, there may be a complaint office for the respective bank which operates independently to receive and determine violations in policy and practice. Independent Accountability Mechanisms receive and respond to complaints. Most Independent Accountability Mechanisms offer two functions for addressing complaints: dispute resolution and compliance review.

Client - Eastern European Electric Company B.V.:

Radoslava Peneva
Email: eeec@eurohold.bg
Website: https://electrohold.bg
Address: Kerkstraat 134A 1017 GP Amsterdam Netherlands

ACCESS TO INFORMATION

You can request information by emailing: accessinfo@ebrd.com or by using this electronic form: https://www.ebrd.com/eform/information-request

ACCOUNTABILITY MECHANISM OF EBRD

The Project Complaint Mechanism (PCM) is the independent complaint mechanism and fact-finding body for people who have been or are likely to be adversely affected by an European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-financed project. If you submit a complaint to the PCM, it may assess compliance with EBRD's own policies and procedures to prevent harm to the environment or communities or it may assist you in resolving the problem that led to the complaint through a dialogue with those implementing the project. Additionally, the PCM has the authority to recommend a project be suspended in the event that harm is imminent.

You can contact the PCM at: pcm@ebrd.com or you can submit a complaint online using an online form at: http://www.ebrd.com/eform/pcm/complaint_form?language=en

You can learn more about the PCM and how to file a complaint at: http://www.ebrd.com/work-with-us/project-finance/project-complaint-mechanism.html