News

24 May 2023

Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva has sent a recommendation to Caretaker Energy Minister Rosen Hristov and Energy and Water Regulatory Commission Chair Ivan Ivanov demanding an urgent inspection of Toplofikacia Sofia EAD on account of the unjustifiably high central heating bills which Sofia citizens received for forecast consumption in April.

The citizens complain that the amounts invoiced for this month are higher than those in the typical winter months such as December 2022 and January 2023 and demand more effective control on the part of the competent government institutions in order to identify the reasons for the unexpectedly high bills and, if errors or violations are found, for them to be remedied.

“I do take into account the duration of providing the central heating service in Sofia in April 2023 and the significantly higher prices of heat energy for household customers in the capital in comparison to the same period of 2022. At the same, I would like to emphasise that the consumers are unable to check themselves if the central heating company is performing all of its obligations in relation to the accurate determination of the thermo-hydraulic regimes to achieve minimum costs in the generation and transmission of heat energy to the building installations as well as of the temperature regimes, the technical condition, customisations and management of the substations which ensure the central heating supply of the respective condominium buildings,” the Ombudsman notes.

Prof. Kovacheva points out that Toplofikacia Sofia posted details on its website on 9 May 2023 about the amount of heat energy generated and sold in April 2023 which show that the amount of heat energy generated in April of this year, or 353,370 MWh, is the lowest quantity from the beginning of the year so far. For the sake of comparison, the information about January 2023 shows the generation of 551,838 MWh, February 2023 – 528,684 MWh, March – 440,128 MWh. The Ombudsman highlights that the expectations of all household customers of Toplofikacia Sofia for the forecast bills for April to be the lowest from the beginning of the year is quite understandable.

“I believe that it is imperative for me to mention the statutory requirement to maintain correspondence between the amounts of heat energy released and the needs for heat energy in buildings – Article 12 of Ordinance No. E-RD-04-1/12.03.2020 on Heat Supply and Article 5 of the General Terms and Conditions for the sale of heat energy for household needs by Toplofikacia Sofia EAD for customers in Sofia. In support of these expectation are also the data published by Toplofikacia Sofia EAD about the average monthly air temperature as follows: for January 2023 +3.9°C; for February 2023 +3.2°C; for March 2023 +7.1°C; for April 2023 +9.0°C”, the Public Advocate provided arguments for her point while demanding an inspection.