Save Sofia proposed that the Sofia Municipal Council take over Toplofikatsia “under direct management” and launch urgent negotiations with the state, creditors and regulatory bodies to save the company from its mounting debt.
“We have no intention of standing by idly while yet another sector critical to Sofia falls into a serious crisis,” Save Sofia said. The party proposes that Toplofikatsia’s management report to the Municipal Council’s Engineering Infrastructure Committee every two weeks and that councillors exercise ongoing public oversight.
According to Boris Bonev, Toplofikatsia cannot escape its debt spiral until the state reassesses the interest rates on its debt. “I categorically insist that the interest rates be reduced. This is daylight robbery. The statutory interest rate is currently 10.4%, while with BEH you are at 13–14%. Did we take out a payday loan? How is it possible to pay 15–16% interest for years on end?” Bonev asked, explaining that Toplofikatsia’s debt payments cover only the interest and do not reduce the principal.
Bonev also addressed Maya Manolova: “What greater consumer protection is there than the state not robbing the municipal company?! Toplofikatsia cannot turn a profit while it is trapped in the regulatory framework—the price of gas is based on exchange prices, while the price of heating is social, and the state pretends that this loss for the company is not its fault,” he said.
Save Sofia demanded that the Sofia Municipal Council’s Energy Committee invite Prime Minister Radev, Energy Minister Iva Petrova, and the managements of Bulgargaz, the Bulgarian Energy Holding, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission and Toplofikatsia to a joint meeting dedicated to the company’s financial future, where the issue could be raised and a solution found.
The party also issued sharp criticism of Terziev. “Terziev met with Bulgargaz, but did not tell the municipal councillors what was discussed or what decisions were made, yet in his subsequent press releases the Sofia Municipal Council is held responsible. Our priorities are clear: to save Toplofikatsia,” Bonev said, recalling that Save Sofia’s proposal for a technical audit of the company, which would establish the actual state of the infrastructure and the scale of the necessary investment, was blocked a year and a half ago, including with the votes of groups supporting the mayor.
According to Save Sofia, the crisis at Toplofikatsia is further proof of how important the review of the previous administration that they had requested was. “Three years later, there has been no review of the inherited situation, nor has there been an audit of the municipal companies. There are also no concrete decisions to stabilize the municipal economy,” the party said.
“Sofia needs bold management decisions. We will propose concrete actions and take responsibility wherever inaction is not an option,” Save Sofia said emphatically.