EPP North discussed joint actions in crisis situations with the local government in Gabrovo region
Measures have been identified and commitments made to deal with such emergency situations in a unified manner
Representatives of the management of ENERGO-PRO Varna and its subsidiary power distribution company ERP North met with the Governor of Gabrovo Maria Baseva, Deputy Mayors of Gabrovo and the Mayors of Sevlievo, Tryavna and Dryanovo. The meeting discussed the electricity supply in the area and the challenges faced by the electricity distribution company during the crisis emergency situation in the last days of 2024, when individual settlements were with disrupted power supply.
The electricity distribution company explained the challenges in the work of the teams during the situation with increased emergency of the facilities. Employees of the company eliminated accidents until the wee hours of the day, enduring cold and wind and in the two-meter drifts in some mountainous areas. In conditions of relatively positive temperatures during the day, a large amount of wet snow accumulated on the wires, and at night, with a decrease in temperature, they froze and led to breakdowns and serious damage to the power distribution network.
To cope with the situation, the help of military and high-pass agricultural equipment was used to reach the emergency sections and to individual settlements. For the timely restoration of the electricity supply to the customers, the company sends teams and deploys highly passable and specialized equipment from the entire territory of Elektrodistribuenie Sever AD to the affected areas. At the meeting, the question was raised, as in other similar situations in the past, that assistance is needed from the mayors and deputy mayors to collect up-to-date information on the points without power after emergencies covering the entire settlement, and to provide it to the company's teams when starting the restoration of the low-voltage network after the priority restoration of the scheme of medium voltage power supply.
During the meeting, the management of ERP North stressed that the company strictly fulfills its licensing obligations on the territory of North-East Bulgaria. It was stated that in weather conditions outside the norm, such as after the Christmas holidays of 2024 in the area, as well as for quick access to the facilities in an emergency, assistance on the part of the municipalities and the district governor with cleaning of small streets in settlements, and not only on the main roads, is definitely needed. Assistance from the local government is also needed in the part of regulating the cottage areas, settlements and neighborhoods in order to build new networks faster and facilitate their service by the electricity distribution company. In this sense, it is imperative to carry out in these areas detailed development plans (PUP) - street regulation plans (PUP-PUR). For the smooth further work on the construction of new facilities, it is important to continue the activities of the Municipalities procedurally even after the entry into force of a PUP. In this regard, it was added that the expectations are that the Municipalities will build infrastructure other than dirt road to each settlement, which will help to restore the electricity supply faster in remote small settlements and neighborhoods.
At the meeting, the management informed the local government in Gabrovo about the investment program of ERP North. It was pointed out that in order to accelerate the modernization of the network, the company increased investments in electricity distribution facilities in 2024 from 43 million to nearly 54 million, which represents an increase of more than 25% and is above the investments approved by the EWRC for the period 2024 — 2026 in the amount of BGN 50 million per year. It was added that every year ERP North conducts an expert analysis of the areas in which an increased emergency of the facilities is detected and invests in the network of these places as a priority.
