Ombudsman Velislava Delcheva has called on parliament, the government, Sofia city council, the heating company Toplofikatsia and the Bulgarian Energy Holding to meet and agree a final solution for the company. She said this in a TV interview.

Delcheva insisted that everyone with a stake in the problem should have a seat at the table. She said it is a national problem and the city council cannot solve it alone.

The interview took place on the day of a hearing on Toplofikatsia at Sofia city council. The ombudsman said the hearing again failed to give the answers people in Sofia are waiting for. It showed that nobody knows when the repairs will end. There are many of them, and as soon as one finishes, another begins. There is no money to replace the whole network, and the company cannot manage the situation now.

Toplofikatsia is a big wound for society, Delcheva said. The company has built up huge debts and is losing customers, and unhappy people are looking for a way to leave it. She said it cannot be closed down, because it serves a social purpose. As ombudsman, she can mediate between citizens and heating companies.

Delcheva offered condolences to the families of those killed in the crashes on the Trakia motorway the day before and wished the injured a quick recovery.

The rise in household gas prices affects the whole country. The price for households has gone up by 46% to 55%, and about 160,000 to 200,000 households are hit. The ombudsman has already recommended compensation for all citizens.

Businesses have ways to make up for pricier gas, but households do not, Delcheva said. Households and vulnerable people who switched to gas as the cheapest fuel now heat their homes in the most expensive way.

She said it is not for her to tell the government by how much to cut VAT on household natural gas, but the cabinet has ways to show it cares about consumers. A European regulation allows the tax to be cut to 5%.