News

11 July 2023

The Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva seized the Minister of Energy Rumen Radev and the chairperson of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (“the Regulatory Commission”) Ivan Ivanov on the more than 200 signals filed by household consumers of the Sofia District Heating Company residing in the Buxton neighbourhood in Sofia. They complain that since 12 June 2023 they have been left without heated water for the period till 7 July 2023, without any prior notification.

It is recalled that Prof. Kovacheva asked the head of the Sofia District Heating Company Alexander Aleksandrov as early as 21 June 2023 to carry out an inspection and compensate the affected consumers residing in the Sofia Buxton neighbourhood for failure to notify them in advance about the planned continuous stoppage of district heating.  

More than 100 complaints were filed with the Ombudsman for a day only. Outraged citizens signalled the Ombudsman that when they called the clients’ hotline of the Sofia District Heating Company, they were explained that information about the upcoming continuous repair had been published on 28 May 2023 on the company website, in compliance with the 15-day time limit set forth in Article 5, item 18 of the standard contract terms for sale of heat for domestic consumption for residents of Sofia.

Subsequently however, the company informed Mrs Diana Kovacheva that the clients had been notified about the pending repair works by way of a publication on the company website made within the statutory time limit, namely – 28 May 2023. However, notification has to take place either in writing or through the mass media, which the company failed to do.

“There is no evidence that the Sofia District Heating Company has paid or is planning to pay any penalties for the lack of prior notification about the continuous stoppage of district heating in the region”, the Ombudsman reiterates in her new letter.

Therefore, she insists that the competent authorities carry out an in-depth inspection to establish whether the Sofia District Heating Company has indeed complied with the obligation to notify 15 days in advance its clients residing in the Sofia Buxton neighboirhood about the planned stoppage of district heating in the period from 12 June to 7 July 2023.

“In principle it is technically feasible for the website admin to attach dates to publications that do not correspond to the actual timing of publication. Household consumers, on the other hand, have no way of proving that they have not been duly notified about the planned stoppage of district heating, hence they cannot protect their right to information and obtain redress”, Mrs Diana Kovacheva points out.

She insists furthermore that the Regulatory Commission takes the required action to amend Article 5, item 18 of the standard contract terms so that to repeal the possibility that household consumers are informed solely through the Sofia District Heating Company website.

“I am of the strong opinion that in the case described above concerning the Sofia Buxton neighbourhood, Article 38, para 1 of the standard contract terms should be applied and the Sofia District Heating Company should pay penalties to the affected consumers thereby compensating them by the amount of district heating that it failed to supply over the period of the repair works and the lack of heat supply”, the public defender underscores.