In Bulgaria the energy poverty doesn't have an exact figure, but the expectations are that 1.8 to 2 million people are energy poor, it is directly related to economic poverty, that's just how incomes are in Bulgaria.
This is predicted by Mincho Benov, director of Habitat Bulgaria before the BNR.
„In 2023, a definition of energy was worked out and adopted, and an implementation regulation was developed. And what was not done? "No institution has been chosen or designated to be responsible for mapping the energy poor to see which households are poor, and the mechanisms to help households have not been developed," Benov said.
He commented that the second phase of the National Sustainability Plan has now been completed. Approved for 305 households to renovate their homes.
„Of the 3,000 who applied in the first phase, 2,700 could not qualify and there is great disappointment. The program underwent changes in the direction that 20% co-financing is required from the home owners, which is the reason for the lower interest, Mincho Benov believes.
According to him, the direction to ask for self-participation is extremely correct:
"Nothing should be done without money. This is the commitment of the owners, but why did we not provide the financial instruments for households that cannot afford co-financing, for example long-term interest-free loans.
Benov believes that the easing of the procedure for installing renewable energy sources for households is in the right direction.
"For sources up to 20 kilowatts, the administrative procedures will be greatly eased. Until recently, whether you were going to make a solar park or put solar batteries on your balcony railing, the procedures were the same. They are now lightened and treated as moveable objects. A project is needed to inform the municipality about renewable sources for households, to produce energy for their own needs", explained the director of Habitat Bulgaria.