News

1 December 2023

In response to numerous inquiries from citizens across the country who were affected by the interruption of electricity for hours and days, Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva prepared a brief instruction on how to seek compensation for the inconvenience and damage caused by electricity distribution companies.

The Ombudsman warns that citizens should be proactive and seek their rights, and they can do so by lodging a complaint or alert with the relevant electricity distribution company. In addition, any person who considers to have suffered damage and any person who has suffered additional damage may also claim it in court.

In the meantime, Prof. Kovacheva again urged the Minister of Energy and the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission to verify whether the electricity distribution companies have fulfilled their obligations for the maintenance of the grid and the easement areas (the untrimmed trees that broke the electrical cables). It is because of the negligent attitude and the failure to fulfill these duties that hundreds of thousands of people were left without light and heat.

“Under no circumstances should electricity distribution companies be allowed to hide behind their general force majeure clauses. They have a duty to maintain their grids, to prune tree branches so they do not break the cables when the snow piles up. Someone did not do their job and it is not fair for the institutions, i.e. the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission and the Ministry of Energy, which should carry out an inspection, to pass the ball to one other”, is the categorical position of the Ombudsman.

    INSTRUCTION

 on receiving compensation from electricity distribution companies for being without electricity for a long period of time (in this case due to the heavy snowfall on 25 November 2023)

According to the General Terms and Conditions of the contracts for access and transmission of electricity through the electricity distribution network of the three electricity distribution companies in the country (Electric Distribution Networks West EAD, Elektrorazpradelenie Sever AD and Elektrorazpradelenie Yug EAD):

• A penalty in the amount of BGN 30 is due if a customer's premises remain without electricity supply for more than 24 hours due to the fault of the relevant company;
•    An additional penalty of BGN 20 is due for each 12-hour period during which the customer is without electricity supply, if the interruption of electricity supply lasts more than 36 hours;

Note: For ERP North customers, the period begins after the electricity distribution company receives a notification from the customer about the interruption.

Required action: If a customer is left without electricity for more than 24 hours due to the fault of the company concerned, he/she may file a report or complaint with the energy distribution company and claim penalty.

If the citizens receive a rejection of their complaint, they must forward it together with the report to the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission with a request for verification by the regulator.

In case of damaged appliances:

• specific damage suffered as a result of power failure, e.g. damaged electrical appliance;
• within 5 working days from the date of the event, the customer notifies the company in writing of the damages suffered;
• determination of the damages - by the end of the next working day after receiving the signal, the company will send its representative to check, for which a statement of finding is drawn up in the presence of the client;
• possibility for voluntary settlement of the relationship between the client and the company regarding the statement of finding;
• resolving the dispute by a court procedure in case of failure to reach an agreement.