Bulgaria's government has approved a first cash payment of 126.6 million euros for "Holding Maritsa Iztok" EAD, the Council of Ministers' press office said. The money is for 2026, and the state will pay a second instalment of 25 million euros in 2027.

The cash will cover the holding's day-to-day running and the cleanup of so-called legacy sites — land damaged before the 2008 concession deal. In 2025 the European Commission wrote to say it was satisfied with the cleanup plans.

Ministers made the decision through a decree that changes the energy ministry's 2026 budget. The payments count as extra funding for the budget balance and will come from the central budget. Step by step, they will make the state a bigger shareholder in the company.

The energy minister signed the order setting up the holding on 31 August 2026. The Maritsa Iztok 2 power plant and the Maritsa-Iztok mines were split off from the Bulgarian Energy Holding and are now subsidiaries of the new company. The move follows a government decision tied to a Recovery and Resilience Plan reform called "Improving the corporate governance of state enterprises in the energy sector".

The Council of Ministers says the new company does not yet have enough money to start up and run smoothly, so the cash is meant to keep it going. The goal is to build on the Maritsa Iztok complex's strengths and turn it, step by step, into a modern energy and industrial hub.

The government says that in the coming years, the companies in the group will run the power and mining plants on a commercial basis. They matter for keeping the power grid secure. The complex's edge over rivals will also give it a base for new business ventures.

The two companies have already merged, and officials have drawn up a strategic plan to secure the new holding's future, including paying off debts and sorting out its finances, energy minister Iva Petrova said on 3 September.