Utilities Watchdog Orders Sofia District Heating Company to Compensate over 6,000 Customers for Disrupted Heat Supply

The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) has ordered Sofia District Heating company (“Toplofikatsiya Sofia”) to compensate 6,197 consumers due to outages during the winter season. The decision follows an extraordinary inspection of “Toplofikatsiya Sofia” EAD, ordered by EWRC Chair Plamen Mladenovski after a complaint by the Bulgarian Ombudsman regarding emergency heating disruptions in Sofia.

Affected customers were left without heating and hot water for more than 48 hours during breakdowns in the period December 2025 – January 2026. The regulator has given 30 days to determine individual compensation and a further seven days for actual payment to those affected across 164 substation units.

The largest number of affected customers is in Lyulin 6 district, with 5,473 clients experiencing a 50-hour outage and compensation for 2 hours of delay. This is followed by Mladost 3 with 222 clients (125-hour outage, 77 hours of delay), Dianabad with 369 clients (104-hour outage, 56 hours of delay), and Poligona district with 133 clients (77-hour outage, 29 hours of delay).

EWRC found violations of the company’s licensing conditions and general terms, including unpaid compensation. The compensation is to be calculated based on undelivered thermal energy after the 48th hour, with payments to be made automatically through customers’ bills. Sofia District Heating must then submit evidence to the regulator confirming the calculations and payments.