Data centre regulation in Bulgaria
Our tracker lists 9 rules for building and running a data centre in Bulgaria, national and EU, and 5 of them are in force.
Each comes with its status, who it applies to and the next date that matters. When a rule here changes, the change is logged below with its date.
- 5 of 9rules that apply, in forceRegulation tracker, updated 19 Oct 2026
- 4not yet in forceproposed, adopted or in scrutiny
- 14 Dec 2026next date, EURegulation tracker, updated 19 Oct 2026
Rules that apply in Bulgaria
National rules first, then the EU rules every member state applies. Status as on the tracker.
| Rule | Level | Status | Applies to | Next date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Energy Efficiency Act, article 70a (public disclosure by data centres), created by paragraph 24 of the act amending the Renewable Energy Act (State Gazette 47 of 10 June 2025) | National | In force since 10 June 2025 (State Gazette 47 of 10 June 2025; the amending act takes effect on publication) | New and existing sites. Owners and operators of data centres whose installed IT has a provided power above 500 kW disclose publicly each year the centre's name, owner, operator, start date and municipality, floor area, provided electrical power, data traffic and data volumes, and its performance on energy use, power use, temperature set points, waste heat use, water use and renewable energy; the information goes to the European data centre database; defence and civil protection centres are excluded; from 1 MW of provided IT power the latest EU Code of Conduct best practices must be taken into account. The article sets no filing date | No date published |
| Cybersecurity Act, articles 4, 4a and 6 and Annex I sector 8 (digital infrastructure: providers of data centre services), as amended by the NIS2 transposition act (State Gazette 17 of 13 February 2026) | National | In force three days after publication in State Gazette 17 of 13 February 2026 (the act sets no date of its own, so the Constitution's three-day rule applies) | New and existing sites. Providers of data centre services that are medium-sized enterprises or larger; those above the medium-size ceiling are essential entities and the other Annex I types are important entities; data centre service providers give the competent authorities the address of their main place of establishment within two months (article 6(2)) | No date published |
| Draft act amending the Energy Efficiency Act (transposing Directive (EU) 2023/1791), revised draft of 28 August 2026, paragraph 77: article 70a(3) annual filing by 15 May and new article 70a(5) waste heat use | National | Draft. Put to public consultation by the Ministry of Energy on 24 July 2026 and revised on 28 August 2026; no sign in the sources checked that it has reached parliament | New and existing sites. Data centres with total rated input power above 1 MW would have to use waste heat or other waste heat recovery applications unless it is shown not to be technically or economically feasible; the annual filing to the European database would be due by 15 May | No date published |
| EED reporting, Article 12 and Delegated Regulation 2024/1364 | EU | In force | New and existing sites. Data centres ≥500 kW installed IT power | 15 May 2027, next annual report |
| EED waste heat, Article 26(6) | EU | In force | New and existing sites. Data centres >1 MW total rated energy input | Ongoing duty |
| EED energy management systems, Article 11 | EU | In force as a Directive duty on Member States; deadline not yet reached | Enterprises, including data-centre operators, with average annual energy consumption above 85 TJ (23.6 GWh) over the previous three years, all energy carriers together | 11 October 2027, certified energy management system in place |
| EU rating scheme, delegated regulation adopted 21 Sep 2026 | EU | Adopted, in Parliament and Council scrutiny | New and existing sites. Same ≥500 kW reporting population | In force 20 days after Official Journal publication, if not objected to |
| EU minimum performance standards | EU | Consultation open | Not yet defined | 14 December 2026, consultation closes |
| Cloud and AI Development Act, COM(2026) 502 | EU | Proposal, with Parliament and Council | Cloud and AI infrastructure providers broadly | No fixed date |
Bulgaria in detail
What the national rules say, with the legal texts.
Bulgaria already has a data centre disclosure duty. Since 10 June 2025, article 70a of the Energy Efficiency Act applies to data centres with more than 500 kW of provided IT power. Their owners and operators must disclose energy data each year. The data goes to the European database. From 1 MW, operators must take the EU Code of Conduct best practices into account. Data centre service providers also fall under the NIS2 changes to the Cybersecurity Act. They were published on 13 February 2026 and, under the Constitution, took effect three days after publication. A Ministry of Energy draft, put to public consultation on 24 July 2026 and revised on 28 August 2026, would set 15 May as the filing date. Above 1 MW of total rated input power, it would also require waste heat use unless that is not technically or economically feasible. The draft's explanatory note says the Commission opened infringement case 2025/0299 on 21 November 2025 for late transposition of the Directive.
Dates to watch
The next dates for Bulgaria and the EU, soonest first.
- 14 Dec 2026The EU Commission's minimum performance standards consultation and call for evidence closes
- 15 May 2027EU database dueevery year
- 11 Oct 2027EU deadline under Article 11 of the Energy Efficiency Directive for a certified energy management system at enterprises above 85 TJ (23.6 GWh) of annual energy consumption
What changed
The latest changes to these rules on the tracker, newest first.
- 18 Oct 2026Added to the tracker: EED energy management systems, Article 11 (In force as a Directive duty on Member States; deadline not yet reached).
- 16 Oct 2026Added to the tracker: Energy Efficiency Act, article 70a (public disclosure by data centres), created by paragraph 24 of the act amending the Renewable Energy Act (State Gazette 47 of 10 June 2025) (In force since 10 June 2025 (State Gazette 47 of 10 June 2025; the amending act takes effect on publication)).
- 16 Oct 2026Added to the tracker: Cybersecurity Act, articles 4, 4a and 6 and Annex I sector 8 (digital infrastructure: providers of data centre services), as amended by the NIS2 transposition act (State Gazette 17 of 13 February 2026) (In force three days after publication in State Gazette 17 of 13 February 2026 (the act sets no date of its own, so the Constitution's three-day rule applies)).
- 16 Oct 2026Added to the tracker: Draft act amending the Energy Efficiency Act (transposing Directive (EU) 2023/1791), revised draft of 28 August 2026, paragraph 77: article 70a(3) annual filing by 15 May and new article 70a(5) waste heat use (Draft. Put to public consultation by the Ministry of Energy on 24 July 2026 and revised on 28 August 2026; no sign in the sources checked that it has reached parliament).
Questions
Which rules apply to a data centre in Bulgaria?
Our tracker lists 9 rules for building and running a data centre in Bulgaria, national and EU, and 5 of them are in force.
What is the next date for data centre rules in Bulgaria?
The next date is 14 Dec 2026: the EU Commission's minimum performance standards consultation and call for evidence closes.
Sources
From the European data-centre regulation tracker, which cites the legal text for every rule.
Not legal advice. Confirm each duty against the text itself.