Can a quality and quick solution be found so that the people in „Druzhba“ 2 are not left without heating and hot water. As is known, „Toplofikatsiya“ – Sofia announced that it is imperative to make urgent repairs to the heating network in the neighborhood. Is there a way out… Emilia Angelova, municipal councilor in the Sofia Municipality from „Save Sofia“, speaks to FACTI.
- Mrs. Angelova, will there be heating in the winter by the end of the year in „Druzhba“ 2, or there won't be any. What did you understand from the explanation of the director of „Toplofikatsiya“ Petar Petrov at the meeting in the Sofia Municipality?
- There will be no normally functioning heating and hot water in „Druzhba“ 2 until the end of the year. The big question is whether it will be only until the end of the year, or will it drag on after that. Our assumption is that the repair will last longer.
- Why is the repair being done now and why is it urgent?
- It is inexplicable why the repair is starting at the beginning of the heating season. The company's management claimed that there was no way it could have started earlier. However, this is completely unfounded given that the problems with the network have been known for years and even the company indicated as the reason the increased frequency of accidents in the area last winter. Why then haven't the preparations started last winter, so that the repair itself can be done during the summer months, when it is typical to make such repairs and the inconvenience to citizens is less?
- Is it actually urgent, or can it be done after the end of the upcoming heating season?
- This is a technical issue related to data on the state of the network. It is precisely in order to be aware of where the greatest risks are in the network and to the operational functioning of the company, that we proposed a report for an independent technical audit of “Toplofikatsiya“ back in April. Since then, the report has been deliberately withheld for consideration by GERB and BSP, most likely out of fear of what will be discovered when professionals go inside to inspect the condition.
- In recent years, “Toplofikatsiya“ has replaced 3 km of pipes per year, and now they are promising 10 km in 3 months. How is this happening…
- And we have been asking the company's management this since last week. For us, this is completely unrealistic, considering the worsening weather conditions in the winter months. Unfortunately, our assumption is that it will be excavated, the deadlines will not be met and people will be left without heating and hot water right during the holidays. And all this chaos will be used as an excuse to withdraw an “urgent“ and emergency loan for several hundred million leva to repair the network and repay part of the debts to BEH and Bulgargaz.
- Will the repairs begin? Has the company firmly stated that it is “urgent“…
- The company plans to begin the repairs. The question is when and how long it will last. The executive director himself stated at the hearing that they have no idea what they will “discover“ underground when they excavate. And whether the condition will not be much worse than they imagined. For us, these are too many question marks and too many risks that should have been commented on months ago, when the public procurement was obviously being prepared without the knowledge of the Sofia Municipal Council.
- Should the people at “Druzhba“ expect any compensation…
- No, the management said that compensation will not be paid. The formal argument is that there is no money. But it is absolutely frivolous not to compensate people after you plan to make repairs for 5 million leva per kilometer. And no, it is not a mistake – the estimated cost for 10 kilometers of repairs is nearly 50 million leva (i.e. 5 million leva per kilometer). We expect the price to be even higher after the companies' price offers are opened. That is, after they can afford such “golden“ replacement of the pipes, the affected citizens should also be able to claim compensation.
- “Toplofikatsiya“ announced that the heating and hot water will not be stopped for the entire period, but at shorter intervals. Is that true…
- These are the allegations. But I repeat - no one knows exactly how bad the condition of the network is and what we will find by digging underground.
- How much longer will “Toplofikatsiya“ live, after its debts have reached 2.5 billion leva?
- The future of Toplofikatsiya is unclear. The Minister of Energy, Mr. Zhecho Stankov, has sent a letter obliging the company to pay off its debt to “Bulgargaz“ of 1.3 billion leva by September 30, i.e. next week. You understand that this is impossible and poses a huge risk that the company's accounts will be frozen just before the start of the heating season.
- What needs to be done to stabilize “Toplofikatsiya“…
- For us, the first step in the right direction is an independent assessment of the technical condition of “Toplofikatsiya“ Sofia EAD, so that we know where we are at all. In parallel, we have been insisting for a year now for fair competitions to be held for the management of the company, so that people with experience in such complex technological enterprises and with a clear vision of how we could restructure its financial situation are selected.