Following the halted supplies of Russian natural gas to Bulgaria on January 5 2009, Sofia mayor Boiko Borissov introduced a plan that aims to reduce energy consumption troughout the city.

The first to go were the lighting of public buildings, Borissov told reporters on January 5 2009. Some of the street lights and the lights of the city's Christmas decoration were also turned off, as well as the heating in the city's public transport.

Buses using natural gas as an alternative fuel to diesel have switched back to diesel. The city's heating utility has been prepared to switch from natural gas to residual fuel. The heating utility had 2000 tons of the residual fuel in storage and the supply of 2000 tons of the fuel had already been negotiated with Lukoil Neftochim refinery in Bourgas on the Black Sea coast, Borissov said.

The fuel will be used to support the heating utility in order to provide heating to kindergartens, schools, hospitals and households. Still heating levels would be reduced.

The Environment Ministry already said that it will not impose restrictions on heating utilities using residual fuel. According to the ministry's standards, residual fuel should be used no more than 10 days in order comply with environmental standards but given the energy crisis the ministry said that it will only monitor the situation.

Meanwhile the Education Ministry said that 72 schools have been closed due to the lack of heating. Twenty-eight schools in Sofia city have been closed, eight in Sofia area, three in Plovdiv, 28 in Pazardjik and five in Dobirch.

According to the ministry's regulations, minimum temperature in the schools must be 18 degrees in order to function.

So far there has not been a single hospital closed because of a lack of heating.