The acting Minister of Energy Traycho Traykov commented in the studio of “Face to Face“ on the topic of high electricity bills, inspections of institutions, the case with “Litasko“, the problems at the “Kozloduy“ NPP, the status of “Bulgargaz“ and the “Chaira“ project.
Regarding the higher electricity bills, he stated that over the past week he has requested information from all institutions that are relevant to the topic. “In order to be able to express an informed opinion, I tried to get information about what is happening from all possible institutions that are related to the topic,“ said Traykov. He emphasized that “the full presentation of the results of the inspections is pending from the regulator, perhaps next week“.
The minister explained that there is a clear correlation between temperatures and energy consumption. “It can be seen that the lower the temperature, the bill increases almost in the same proportion”, he pointed out. According to him, in Western Bulgaria the increase in consumption is 33%, in Northeastern - 47%, and in Southeastern - 41%, adding about a 3% increase in the price from last summer.
Traykov admitted that there are individual errors. "I say that there are always mistakes and that customers should always be compensated," he said. As an example, he cited "an error in the clock of the day and night tariff," specifying: "In no case is the fault of the consumer." According to him, these are isolated cases - "like 7 broken clocks out of 2 million customers." He emphasized that if a problem is identified, customers receive compensation - by deducting it from the next bill or returning the overpaid amount.
The minister assured that inspections are at all levels: "There is not a single corner that will remain unchecked and unaffected by this attention of the state."
There is a one-month period for responding to a complaint. During this period, the electricity of the consumer who filed the complaint will not be cut off, Traikov said.
On the case with “Litasko“ and the threat of a lawsuit for about 3 billion leva, Traikov said: “I cannot say how realistic it is“. He noted that the letter contains proposals for negotiations. According to him, the next steps will depend on the government's legal advisor.
Regarding the problems at the “Kozloduy“ NPP, the minister indicated that an on-site visit and inspection of all documents are forthcoming. “I heard about the derogation and I want to see exactly all the documents, who and what has messed up along the way, so that they bear the consequences“, he said. According to him, this is a part worth “100-200 thousand euros“, which leads to losses “from 50 million and up“.
Regarding the “Chaira“ PAVEC, Traykov said that he had visited the site and expects one of the hydro units to be put into operation after repair in April. He indicated that a new public procurement will be launched for the remaining units, after the previous one was without bids.
Regarding “Bulgargaz“, the minister commented: “Bulgargaz“ over the years has missed an awful lot of opportunities to adapt and be successful as a company in the new environment of the energy market“. He gave an example of the company's ability to register a trader on the American market and buy gas directly.
At the same time, he emphasized that there are also positive assets, such as the contract with Azerbaijan, which he said is “extremely beneficial for us at the moment“.