New complaints about high electricity bills raise questions about the reliability of the metering system, and according to cyber expert Hristiyan Daskalov, the problem may not only be technical, but also in the way the process is organized. On the air of NOVA NEWS, he explained that “a systemic error may also exist in the way the metering process is organized“, especially when the same company simultaneously supplies and meters electricity. In his words, this reduces trust and creates opportunities for speculation and doubts.
According to Daskalov, in many European countries, citizens have direct access to data on their consumption, while in Bulgaria this is difficult. He pointed out that anyone can log into the system and check the chronology of their consumption, but in our country this option has not been implemented in practice.
The expert specified that the widespread use of old electricity meters also limits the possibilities for automatic control: "Smart meters are less common, and the majority are of the old generation, which requires manual reading and creates prerequisites for errors or doubts". He added that critical infrastructure is not about simple "glitches", but in case of doubt, one should talk about a possible "cyber incident", which should be checked by the competent institutions.
Daskalov did not rule out the theoretical risk of hybrid attacks against the energy system, but emphasized that this can only be established through an official inspection.
“Legislators must implement technological capabilities and open data in order to increase trust in the system“, the cyber expert is categorical. Daskalov added that citizens can also monitor their consumption using special devices and insist that institutions promptly check possible cyber incidents.