MINERS’ TRADE UNIONS ARE FEARFUL THAT SOME TPPs MAY GO BANKRUPT

Some district heating companies in Bulgaria may face bankruptcy if the regulator Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC), keeps the reduced heating prices as of 1st of July, trade unions have warned.

The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions of Bulgaria (CITUB) and “Podkrepa” trade union say they are ready to organize strikes because of concerns that if the state-owned Thermal Power Plant (TPP) “Maritsa Iztok” 2 is put on the free market, the miners are at risk of not receiving their salaries. The reason is that there will be difficulties to sell the expensive electricity at competitive prices.

Currently all power plants from the complex “Maritsa Iztok” owe the mining industry 330 million BGN.

There is no unanimity on the price of heating too. The regulator suggests the heat energy prices to be slightly reduced in the cities of Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna and Bourgas while the district heating companies insist on increasing them.

Vladimir Topalov, the Chairperson of the Federation of Miners at “Podkrepa” trade union said that according to their analyses some power plants, like the ones in the towns of Gabrovo and Razgrad, were at risk of bankruptcy. They are small heating companies and it is difficult for them to operate on the basis of what is required from them, he added.

Ivan Ivanov, the Chairperson of Energy and Water Regulatory Commission said that the regulator would take into account the price of natural gas when the final prices of the district heating services were determined. The deadline is 29th of June, he explained.

The energy regulator suggests the prices of electricity to increase from 1st of July by average 2% for household customers. If the proposed price increase is accepted, the electricity price for customers of Energo Pro will go up by 3,6%, by 1,5% for customers of CEZ and by 1,2% for customers of EVN. EWRC’s proposal includes a significant increase, by 112%, of the price element "public service obligations", for industrial consumers. This triggered dissatisfaction among representatives of the business. The Bulgarian Minister of the Economy, Bozhidar Lukarski, also opposed the proposal of the regulator.

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