Emergency inspections of energy companies due to electricity bills

Extraordinary inspections of electricity distribution companies and end suppliers regarding electricity bills for household consumers begin today. This was announced by the outgoing Minister of Energy, Zhecho Stankov, after the meeting of the Council of Ministers.

According to him, the Ministry of Energy has been in constant contact with the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) on the subject since the beginning of the week. Each individual case will be considered individually, the minister specified. 

Stankov pointed out that the inspections will pay special attention to whether the reporting periods are within 30 days, and do not cover a longer period, as was the case in 2013, when the expenses for two months were included in one bill. The quality of the electricity supply will also be analyzed, including whether households have received the service with the necessary parameters, Stankov added. 

“If violations are found, the full rigor of the law will be applied – both under the legislation for which the EWRC is responsible, and under the powers of the Ministry of Energy”, the minister stated.

He informed that based on an analysis for January compared to December, an increase in electricity consumption in the country between 15 and 30 percent was recorded, depending on the region. In January, peak consumption levels of around 8200 megawatts were reached, which have not been registered since 1986, Stankov noted.

He clarified that the Ministry of Energy has currently received complaints mainly about the quality of the service, while the EWRC has also received signals related to electricity bills. All complaints submitted will be covered by the inspections.

Stankov recalled that since July 1 last year, the price of electricity on the regulated market for household consumers has been increased by just over 2 percent for a period of 12 months ahead, which, according to him, should have an insignificant effect on the final bills.

The inspections will include an analysis of consumption both at the time of filing complaints and for previous periods, in order to determine whether the reported consumption is usual for the respective subscriber. Detailed information will be requested from the three electricity distribution companies and from the end suppliers, in order to guarantee the fairness of the bills for the millions of household consumers in the country.