Over 400 complaints have been received so far at the customer centers of EVN - the electricity distribution company for Southern Bulgaria, with the majority of them being about inflated electricity bills.
At the same time, KEVR has not received a single complaint. The regulator promised that the inspections, which have already begun, will be completely independent, and in case of violations, the necessary sanctions will be imposed.
They also called on citizens dissatisfied with their electricity bills to check their electricity consumption for a comparable period, and not just the invoice from the previous month.
Like hundreds of subscribers, Georgi Dimitrov is unpleasantly surprised by his January electricity bill.
Georgi Dimitrov: In December, my bill was 185 leva, and in January I paid 185 euros, which means double. At first, I was so shocked and shouted, was it one leva or one euro, the bill was in euros, but I actually went and filed an application for review.
During the check, it became clear that the reported kilowatts were actually consumed. And the bill is even lower than last January.
They made a report and I have no prejudicial circumstance. Even last January, for reference, compared to this one, I paid about 10 euros more.
During the inspections, KEWR experts will also compare the invoices issued in actually comparable periods.
Plamen Mladenovski - Chairman of KEWR: We will check the invoices for a comparable period, the periods according to the temperatures are completely comparable. The next thing we will check is whether the prices have been reported correctly. Last but not least, we will also check the way the bills have been converted.
EVN explained that they will cooperate with the regulator and accept the inspections as an opportunity to prove that the invoices they issue cannot be manipulated.
Petar Kostadinov – Spokesperson: The billing process is fully computerized, there is no human intervention, everything is guaranteed with various protections and we can guarantee that whatever the client has used is accounted for and invoiced. Three days of sub-zero temperatures can affect the invoice by percentages, as a person will continue to turn on the same stove every day.
Each complaint received by the company will be considered individually and within a week the account holder will receive a response, the company also assures.
By the end of the month, they expect the number of complaints to exceed 600.