Sun, Nov 08 2009

Row between Toplofikatsiya Sofia and Bulgargas worsens

Thu, Apr 02 2009 14:04 CET byNick Iliev 663 Views
Row between Toplofikatsiya Sofia and Bulgargas worsens

Photo: Krassimir Youskeseliev

The management of Sofia heating utility Toplofikatsiya has proposed to Bulgaria's national Economy and Energy Ministry that the municipal administration should refuse to supply any services to the company's debtors, according to the head of Toplofikatsiya's board of directors, Georgi Kadiev.

Dnevnik daily said that the idea was to use "administrative pressure" to force debtors to pay up. Toplofikatsiya owes about 150 million leva to Bulgargas, and on April 1 2009 was warned that its supplies would be severed unless it paid 38 million leva of its debt immediately.

Towards December 2008, Toplofikatsiya Sofia, which prior to that was partially state owned and partially municipally owned, became fully state owned after Sofia Municipality transferred its share to the Ministry of Energy.

Kadiev believes that central heating prices will soar come October 2009, enabling the regulatory commission to cover its accumulated debts from the restoration of heating prices to levels of last year.

According to Kadiev, "the heating utility company did not at the time know what the price of natural gas would be". On April 1, a similar scenario was suggested by the head of the state commission for heat and water regulation, Konstantin Shushulov.

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