The authorities cannot afford to raise district heating prices by more than 4%, and the best solution would be for prices to remain unchanged or for the adjustment to be symbolic. This was stated by Dragomir Ivanov, an independent municipal councillor on the Sofia Municipal Council, in an interview with „Focus“.
According to him, the service is used by 467,000 households, which means around 1 million people. Ivanov described district heating as a social service and said that a large proportion of consumers have no real alternative.
„They cannot afford district heating prices to rise unless the increase is kept within a maximum of 1–4%,“ Ivanov commented.He added that if the state wants to limit social tensions and the risk of protests during the winter, it will have to cover the difference through the budget.
EWRC announced that there will be no increase for the time being
Ivanov’s statement came days after a position expressed by Plamen Mladenovski, chairman of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission. On November 4, he said that, at this point, prices for district heating and electricity for household consumers would not be increased.
Mladenovski уточни, че развитието на цените зависи и от пазара на природен газ, който се влияе от международната обстановка. Междувременно финансовият натиск върху „Топлофикация София“ остава сериозен. Задълженията на дружеството към „Булгаргаз“ надхвърлят 900 милиона евро, но газовият доставчик заяви, че няма да спира подаването на природен газ.
Warning of more breakdowns
Ivanov linked the pricing issue to problems in the network of „Toplofikatsia Sofia“ as well. He said that 190 complaints about a lack of heat supply had been registered so far, affecting individual apartment blocks and entire neighbourhoods.
According to the municipal councillor, the ageing infrastructure could lead to more breakdowns after the system’s load increases during the heating season.
„Unless the state’s entire approach changes drastically as well, the service will become increasingly poor in quality, and I believe there will be many more breakdowns during the winter,“ he said.According to him, the Sofia Municipal Council has already decided that the company’s management will be heard. Ivanov expects new management at „Toplofikatsia Sofia“ in about two weeks, but believes that a change in management will not be sufficient without an overall solution to the company’s condition and financing.
Sources: focus-news.net, nova.bg