site.btaTrade Union to Support Employer Protests against Raised Electricity Prices for Business

Trade Union to Support Employer Protests against Raised Electricity Prices for Business

Lovech, North Central Bulgaria, September 11 (BTA) - The Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) will support the employer organizations' protests against the higher electricity price for business users scheduled for September 30 unless the energy regulator revises its decision to increase prices by some 15-20 per cent from August 1.

The organizations are disgruntled over the 100 per cent increase in the public obligation surcharge for business users meant to offset the feed-in tariffs paid for electricity produced from renewable sources and through high-efficiency cogeneration by the heating utilities and the in-house power plants, CITUB Vice President Chavdar Hristov said. The trade union will protest against decisions that encumber people, he added.

On Thursday, employer organisations said they will stage a protest and demand the resignation of Energy and Water Regulatory Commission Chairman Ivan Ivanov. Businesses wants a return of electricity prices to the pre-August levels.

The employers will also propose to the parliamentary parties a draft moratorium on the mandatory purchase of electricity from facilities put into operation after October 1, 2015.