Bulgaria maintains one of the highest levels of energy poverty in the European Union and yet lags behind in the introduction of a protective mechanism for energy poor households. This is according to a report by the Institute for Economic Research of the BAS for last year.
Low incomes and high energy costs put Bulgaria at the bottom - among the European countries with the largest share of households that cannot keep their homes adequately warm, BNR informs.
The working poor, who according to the latest data of the National Statistical Institute for 2023 are 10%, and pensioners with a pension below the poverty line, who are close to 350,000 people, save on heating.
92% of buildings in our country with a low energy efficiency class and only 4% of multi-family buildings have been renovated under the national programs, together with the 3,400 approved in the first phase.
Despite the relatively lowest prices of energy carriers in Bulgaria, the share of energy expenditure from the disposable income of households remains the highest among all member states in the European Union.
The report recommends the introduction of a mechanism for social affordability of electricity prices in the liberalization of the market, which would prescribe a clear scale of differentiation of support according to income.