The Energy Committee in the National Assembly adopted on second reading the bill on providing financial support to household end customers of electricity who were left without electricity in the period 21-31 December 2024.
The bill was submitted by Pavela Mitova ("There are such people"), Delyan Dobrev (GERB-SDF), Dragomir Stoynev ("BSP-United Left") and Ramadan Atalay ("Democracy, Rights and Freedoms"-DPS).
By a decree of 30 December 2024, the Council of Ministers approved additional expenditures under the budget of the Ministry of Energy in the amount of 2.2 million. BGN, which must be provided to the "Electricity System Security" Fund, so that about 26,000 household end customers can receive support.
The recipients of the financial assistance are individuals who were left without electricity for more than 24 hours within this period.
In the period from December 21, 2024 to December 31, 2024, separate territories in a number of municipalities in the license territories of "Electricity Distribution Networks - West", "Electricity Distribution North" and "Electricity Distribution South", it is recalled in the explanatory memorandum.
The bill does not cancel the penalties of the electricity distribution companies under their contractual relationships.
The deputies from the committee supported the proposal made by Stanislav Anastasov ("DPS-New Beginning"), Delyan Dobrev (GERB) and Pavela Mitova (ITN), in a working group version, according to which the operators of the electricity distribution networks, in whose license territories household end customers are connected under the bill, refund to the "Electricity System Security" Fund the funds paid by it for compensation to the respective end supplier, whose license territory coincides with the territory of the operator. According to the adopted text, the refund of funds is carried out through voluntary implementation within one month after receiving an invitation for payment from the Fund, to which a document certifying the amount paid is attached.
I remind you that in the period from December 21 to 24, 2024, the average number of affected settlements was 31, and the remaining subscribers without electricity were 4,658 on average. A significant increase in these indicators was observed from December 25 to 27, with the average number of affected settlements being 280, and the remaining subscribers without electricity reaching 42,350. As of December 28, 209 settlements and 19,745 subscribers remained without electricity.