Parliament has voted down a request by the Vazrazhdane party to question energy minister Iva Petrova and Plamen Mladenovski, head of the energy regulator KEVR, about Toplofikatsia Sofia, the Sofia district heating company. Vazrazhdane MP Petar Petrov announced the decision.

The party wanted the hearing added to Thursday's agenda. MPs rejected the proposal at the start of today's plenary session. Petrov said MPs from the ruling Progressive Bulgaria majority voted against it.

Vazrazhdane wanted the hearing to cover the company's technical and financial state, its growing debts, and what breakdowns and planned repairs mean for its customers. The party also wanted a report on the results of checks by the ministry and KEVR.

Petrov said that on 11 September Petrova told MPs during parliamentary question time that ministry experts had already checked the company and found many failings in its work. That is why the party asked for the hearing, he told a briefing in the parliament lobby.

Petrov said there should be information on what happens after the checks. He said he regrets the refusal. "We believe this way there is no transparency about this heavily indebted company," the MP said. He said "Bulgarian citizens, including residents of Sofia, get no answer at all."

Petrov has also put a question to the energy minister about the results of the ministry's checks on Toplofikatsia Sofia.