Heavy snow and high winds leave more than half a million households in Bulgaria without electricity

More than half a million households in the country are without electricity because of severe weather conditions on November 26.

As at 15.00, power supply has been disrupted for nearly 200,000 customers of ENERGO-PRO in 832 settlements in the North-East of Bulgaria. Heavy snowfall and strong winds caused hundreds of breakdowns on the electricity distribution network in Northeastern Bulgaria.

Over 800 settlements in Varna region are without electricity.

Icy power lines and fallen trees caused a number of damages to the facilities and snapped wires in sections of the network. All Electricity Distribution North's emergency teams are mobilised and working intensively in the unprecedented weather conditions, but closed or impassable roads in some sections are hampering access and delaying the restoration of power supply.

There are difficulties to access the 24-hour call centre on 0700 161 61; 0700 359 10 and 0897006601 due to the large number of customers trying to report an emergency.

As at 14:30, more than 352,000 households in Western Bulgaria were without power due to problems at three substations in Electrodistribution Grid West. Electricity supply has been restored to 100,000 customers. Three substations, part of the electricity grid, remain without power supply.

Data on the Electrodistribution Grid West website shows which areas are without power supply:

• Blagoevgrad District - 10,000 customers
• Kyustendil district - 23,000 customers
• Vidin district - 20,000 customers
• District Vratsa - 50,000 customers
• Sofia District - 50,000 customers
• Lovech district - 58,000 customers
• Montana District - 35,000 customers
• Pernik District - 14,000 customers
• Pleven District - 64,000 customers
• Sofia city - 27,000 customers

Thousands of customers are without electricity in South-Eastern Bulgaria. There are power outages in many settlements in the mountainous parts of the Plovdiv district, said EVN spokesman Krum Kosev. He said the cause was broken transmission lines due to heavy wet snow.

Fire fighters spent hours rescuing young people stranded in the snow in Plovdiv region.

As at 15:30 on 26 November 2023, the power supply situation in the areas affected by the snowfall

The situation in the areas affected by the snowfall is as follows:

Partially or completely with disrupted power supply are villages mainly in the mountainous and inaccessible parts of the Rhodope Mountains and part of the Balkan Mountains - on the territory of the districts of Plovdiv, Smolyan, Sliven, Burgas.

The outages were caused by snowfall and strong winds, numerous fallen trees and branches, which resulted in broken overhead power lines with medium and low voltage.

In Plovdiv region, work is underway to restore power supply to the affected villages in the higher parts of the Rhodope Mountains and in the area of Parvomay. In the Smolyan district, the affected villages are mainly in the areas of Banite and Hvoyna, and in Sliven district electricity supply restoration activities are concentrated in the area of Kotel. In Burgas district, the situation remains complicated for villages from the municipalities of Ruen and Karnobat. More than 60 teams of Electricity Distribution South continue the restoration works on the affected power lines, and in some places a detour is being carried out, including with the use of high-capacity equipment. All groups are prepared with the necessary equipment and materials.

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