The non-performing receivables of the power companies will not be accounted for in the energy prices, said Konstantin Shushulov, chairman of the State Commission on Energy Regulation (SCER), after the cabinet adopted an ordinance on energy pricing regulation. Up to now the regulation envisaged some 35 of the non-performing debts due to the energy companies to be accounted for in the electricity consumer prices. The costs of the Electricity Distribution Companies (EDCs) for providing power to the privileged consumers and consumers not covered by the EDCs licenses will not be recognised as production costs either. In case SCER decides that a given type of costs do not serve the consumers interests, the costs will not be recognised either. Corporate taxation, penalties, interest, defaults and fines paid by the EDCs are not included in the consumer prices as well. No electricity user price hikes are planned after 2005, except for the inflation rate adjustment, Shushulov stated. On July 1 electricity prices will go up by 10% and this is the last price hike, he said. The rate of return for the EDC shareholders is set in a time table, under which it will not exceed 16% and between 2012 to 2017 it will stand at 12%. He compared this return levels with the contracts brokered by the Kostov government with the US multinationals on the Bulgaria coal-fired thermal power plants Maritsa East 1 and Maritsa East 3, where the foreign owners return is set on 17%.