site.btaEnergy Ministry to Initiate Legislation to Minimize Power Outages

Bulgaria's Energy Ministry has drafted legislative revisions intended to minimize power outages during the winter as a result of adverse weather.

Energy Minister Vladimir Malinov broke this news at a meeting with the leadership of the National Association of Municipalities in the Republic of Bulgaria. The agenda included measures to prevent in future critical situations with power cuts for long periods of time, as was the case in the last days of 2024.

The participants in the meeting reached agreement on Malinov's proposal on the need of fixing by legislation of a minimum rate of investment that electricity distribution companies should make in the maintenance, rehabilitation and repair of the network. Their investment programmes should be publicly accessible, and local government should be consulted on them before they are endorsed by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, according to another measure unveiled by the Energy Minister. 

Tightened control over the tangible implementation of investment programmes at municipality level is crucial. Sanctions for failing to implement the investments will be increased substantially, it transpired during the meeting. Revised legislation will include a regulatory requirement for electricity distribution companies to ensure alternative power supply in case of long-term outages. The participants in the meeting are of the opinion that the damages for customers envisaged in the companies' general terms and conditions should be increased. 

"The BGN 2 million-plus allocated by the State to assist customers left without electricity in the last days of last year complement rather than substitute the damages payable by the electricity distribution companies," Malinov emphasized. In his words, the amounts should best be paid through the National Revenue Agency or the National Social Security Institute which have the requisite database. In the coming days, the information about customers left without electricity that the distributors have been asked to provided with will be compared with the relevant information submitted by municipalities.

The past record of the recurrence of power outages in specified areas needs to be identified. "In the risk areas, where the outages occur most often, overhead power lines must be moved underground," the Energy Minister stressed.