Residents of the capital's district “Druzhba“ have been without hot water since August 28 due to repairs to the heat transfer network and subsequent accidents. The planned deadline for restoring the heat supply is October 1, but people are demanding more reliable information, after the date has been changed many times.
In the affected area, old pipes are being replaced with new ones. According to residents of the area, the repair should have been completed earlier, but additional accidents have occurred after the initial shutdown. On September 13, hot water was turned on for one day, after which it was stopped again.
“We have been without water since August 28. We had water for one day on September 13, and then they cut it off and we still don't have it. The problem is that the date changes every two days“, says a resident of the neighborhood.
Families heat water in pots
The prolonged interruption creates serious difficulties for households. A family with a small child heats water in pots, while another resident, who has two children, uses an instant cooker and a camping shower.
“What worries us most is that we don't have any clear deadlines for when the hot water will be turned on, so that we can decide – whether to leave somewhere, look for another place to live, or work on the issue“, says a woman from “Druzhba“.
Residents claim that the deadline has been changed six times. Some of the entrances have posted notices, but according to people, the information does not reach everyone in time. With a longer and clearer schedule, households could plan to purchase a boiler or temporarily move.
The renovation also makes access to the blocks more difficult
The construction activities are also creating problems with parking. A resident of the neighborhood says that her car was hit by a truck while maneuvering in a narrow section. According to her, the car was moved to a penalty parking lot twice because of the restrictions surrounding the renovation.
People say they are not against replacing the worn-out network, but they insist on better planning and communication. Residents of blocks 158 and 159 have sent a collective signal to the regional administration, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission and the Ombudsman.
The regional administration states that they are aware of the problem and are carrying out inspections, but are not the ones commissioning the repair sites. “One is a planned repair, and the other, which happened after the water cut, is numerous accidents in the area. This big problem arose from the numerous accidents“, they state.
“Toplofikatsiya Sofia“ explains that the period of the annual maintenance of the “Sofia-Iztok“ TPP was used for the repair. Due to the volume and technical specifics of the replacement, the activities continue after the end of the maintenance. The company indicates October 1 as the planned date for the restoration of the heat supply and states that during the period of the interruption, no heat energy will be charged for domestic hot water supply.
Sources: bTV News