The current management of „Toplofikatsia – Sofia“ bears responsibility for the company’s current condition and the numerous breakdowns, as do the political forces that appointed it – GERB, BSP, „There Is Such a People“ and the breakaway members from „Vazrazhdane“. This management has already been temporary for two years, without sufficient publicity and transparency surrounding the appointments. The people who appointed these managers must also bear responsibility for the company’s condition. Simeon Stavrev, a municipal councillor from „PP-DB“, said this to Lily Marinkova in the „FAKTI“ studio and on the „Conversation“ programme.
„At a meeting of the Engineering Committee of the Sofia Municipal Council, the management of „Toplofikatsia“ was invited to explain why there are so many breakdowns, when they will be repaired and what the company’s actual condition is. Municipal councillors and many citizens were present and quite rightly expressed their dissatisfaction. People are most frustrated by the lack of predictability. The deadline for completing the repairs has already been changed five times. At the same time, the company’s management stated several times that it could not commit to a specific date because it was not certain that it would be able to meet it. This is absurd – citizens have the right to know when they will have heating and hot water,“ the guest added.
„I submitted a map of the current problems, according to which there were 112 breakdowns as of yesterday. They are concentrated mainly in the eastern part of Sofia, but their number is extremely high and is causing serious inconvenience to people. Citizens told shocking stories about the situation they have been placed in. One of the main problems is that repairs are not carried out during the summer, when there is no heating season, but instead have to be done in winter, when people rely on district heating. The other major issue concerns the upcoming permanent appointment of the management by the same political groups in the Municipal Council, which could happen next week. I see no reasonable grounds for the same people to remain in the same positions given the condition of the company. Citizens are quite rightly asking how it is possible for people under whose management this situation arose to be appointed again,“ Stavrev also said.
„But the problems do not end with the breakdowns. The data I presented show that over a period of more than two months, 286 interruptions in the operation of substations were recorded. This is an extremely high number. The situation is particularly worrying in the areas served by the „Sofia East“ combined heat and power plant – „Druzhba“, „Mladost“ and „Studentski grad“. Years ago, there were serious problems and around 60 million leva were invested in repairing the pipelines in „Druzhba“, precisely in order to improve the situation. Nevertheless, the problems continue,“ Stavrev further revealed.
Watch more from the conversation in the VIDEO.