The professional discussion on the future of the Sustainable Energy Development Agency (SEDA), which began over the past few days, has already brought together 21 Bulgarian organizations calling for the preservation and strengthening of the institution and for an open discussion on any potential changes to its status.

Following the initial public positions of the Chamber of Energy Auditors, the Center for Energy Efficiency EnEffect and the Association of Bulgarian Energy Agencies, the initiative has gained the support of a broad range of professional and industry organisations, energy agencies, non-governmental organisations and business representatives.

What began as a response to unofficial information about the possible abolition of SEDA as a separate state authority has now developed into a joint position on how Bulgaria organises oversight, expert capacity and coordination of sustainable energy policies.

The organizations supporting the document include professional and industry associations, energy agencies, non-governmental organization and business representatives with different profiles and roles across the sector.
Through this joint position, we want to emphasize that the issue goes beyond preserving a particular administrative structure. Our focus is on the need for an effective mechanism for overseeing the results of energy efficiency policies, preserving accumulated expertise and improving coordination between the institutions responsible for energy, building renovation, the economy, transport, the environment, finance and social policy.

Rather than reducing the issue to administrative optimization, we are calling for a transparent process and a proper assessment of the consequences of any potential reorganization.

More specifically, we call for:
• official information to be made public on whether the abolition or restructuring of SEDA is being considered and what the grounds for such a decision are;
• no change to the Agency’s status to be undertaken without a separate impact assessment and a comprehensive public consultation;
• a proper assessment of the human, technical and financial resources required to meet the expanding national and European obligations;
• discussion of the transformation of SEDA into a State Agency for Sustainable Energy Development under the Council of Ministers, with an expanded mandate and adequate resources for horizontal coordination, monitoring and oversight.

With the proposal to change SEDA’s status, we are raising the broader question of the Agency’s place within Bulgaria’s institutional framework and the role it should play as sustainable energy policies continue to expand in scope. The Agency collects and consolidates information from different public institutions and contributes to national and European reporting on policies that extend far beyond the responsibilities of a single ministry. We therefore propose strengthening this role through a permanent coordination mechanism for climate and energy policies under the Council of Ministers.

With the support of 21 organizations, we want to send a clear signal that the future of SEDA should not be treated merely as an internal administrative matter. It concerns institutional capacity built over decades and the system through which Bulgaria must be able to monitor, verify and demonstrate the results of increasingly significant public and European investments in energy efficiency and decarbonisation.

Our joint position, as well as the names of the supporting organizations, can be found here.