News

19 January 2023

Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva has sent a new recommendation to Irena Georgieva, Executive Director of Bulgaria W&S Holding EAD, criticising strongly the drastic rise in the price of water in Smolyan Region as of 1 January 2023.

Prof. Kovacheva has also sent such a recommendation to Rumyana Yanchevska, Managing Director of the local W&S company, insisting that the price approved by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) on 30 December 2022 should not be applied.

“The increase in the complex price of the W&S services for household customers as of 1 January 2023 in comparison to 1 January 2021 is from 2.575 BGN/cubic m to 4.625 BGN/cubic m, or by 79.59%. For the past several months, the price of water in Smolyan Region has increased for the second time for households from 1 October 2022 in comparison to 1 January 2021 by 44.22% and from 1 January 2023 in comparison to 1 October 2022 by 24.52%,” the national Public Advocate notes.

The Ombudsman also highlights the fact that the EWRC determined the affordability to be 5.23 BGN/cubic m as of 1 January 2021 and 6.12 BGN/cubic m as of 1 January 2023, or an increase only by 17%.

“This means that the average monthly income per person of the population in the region has increased by 17% only. In this way, in the conditions of several concurrent crises, the costs of water bills will be a significant burden on household budgets in Smolyan Region,” Prof. Kovacheva is certain.

In her recommendation, she notes that even during the public discussion about the increase in prices of W&S services held by the EWRC on 6 December 2022, she was against the increase in the price of water in Smolyan Region.

“One of my main arguments to this end is that W&S Smolyan fails to fulfil the quality benchmarks set by the EWRC. This is also stated in the Working Group Report and in 2021 EWRC Annual Report and Comparative Analysis of the W&S Sector which shows that W&S Smolyan fails to fulfil 21 of 30 quality benchmarks, including “total water losses”, “accidents along the water pipe system”, “pressure of the water supply system”, “active leak control”, “deadline for responses to written complaints from customers” and others,” Diana Kovacheva adds.

She recalls that even then she warned that if the EWRC would approve the envisaged increase in the price of water in Smolyan Region, there was an actual risk for the customers of the W&S sector to find themselves unable to pay their water bills which would result in a deterioration in receivable collection for W&S Smolyan.

The Ombudsman also draws attention to the fact that through the Electricity System Security Fund the State provides compensation to non-residential end users of electricity in the amount of 100% of the difference between the actual monthly average exchange price at the Day Ahead Segment of Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange EAD for the respective month and the base price of 250 BGN/MWh.

“The National Assembly passed a decision in November 2022 tasking the Council of Ministers with adopting a program to provide compensation for the prices of electricity for non-residential end customers (State Gazette, issue 90 of 11 November 2022). It notes that non-residential end customers will receive, throughout 2023, compensation for the prices of electricity in an amount between the actual average monthly exchange price of the Day Ahead Segment of IBEX for the respective month and the base price of 200 BGN/MWh,” Dian Kovacheva notes.

Based on the above, the Ombudsman adds that in 2023 W&S Smolyan will receive additional state compensation in the amount of 50 BGN/MWh which, however, is not included in the determination of the costs for electricity in the price of the W&S services in the business plan for the period 2022 – 2026 because it was approved by the EWRC on 29 September 2022.