The accumulated debt of Shumen Water Supply to ENERGO-PRO became an occasion for a meeting between the managers of the two companies

The managers of the companies are urgently looking for a way to avoid disconnecting the power supply to objects of the water supply company

Yesterday, August 28, 2013, the manager of ENERGO-PRO Varna, Mr. Stefan Abadzhiev, met with the newly appointed manager of Shumen Plumbing, Eng. Svetlozar Damyanov. The reason for the meeting was the accumulated debt for electricity of the water supply company and the opportunities to deal with the problem. Experts from both companies also took part in the discussion.

To date, the total debt of Shumen Plumbing for consumed electricity amounts to about BGN 1.5 million. This amount includes both overdue liabilities in the amount of over BGN 1 million and current expenses for the electricity consumption of the water supply company. The problem of delayed payments for electricity of the Shumen water supply system to ENERGO-PRO is not from today. It has existed for years, and over time, despite all the efforts of the electricity company operating on the territory of Northeastern Bulgaria to cope with the situation, the accumulated debt is constantly growing.

After numerous meetings with the management of Shumen Water Supply and Works in the person of the former manager, Eng. Mariyan Ganchev, the local government and representatives of the Ministry of Regional Development, ENERGO-PRO initiated another meeting, which took place on August 28, 2013. On it, the manager of ENERGO-PRO and the newly appointed manager of Shumen Plumbing, Eng. Svetlozar Damyanov, once again discussed the problem and the possibilities for an acceptable solution that would be in the interest of all residents of the Shumen region. On behalf of the water supply company Eng. Damyanov submitted two proposals for rescheduling the accumulated debt, and according to him the company has already taken short-term targeted measures to increase the collection of its clients' debts. Thus, it is expected that Shumen Water Supply will be able to implement the proposed scheme of payment of the accumulated debt to ENERGO-PRO. The electricity supply company, in the person of Mr. Abadzhiev, undertook to consider the proposals made by the management of Shumen Water Supply. “It is necessary to foresee technological time for a detailed review and analysis of the proposals made. In principle, the internal rules for rescheduling in the company do not allow the repayment periods for huge amounts of the order of more than 1 million leva to be too long. Moreover, the postponement of the payment of such debt deprives our company of funds for investments during the period of active preparation and prevention of electrical facilities before the upcoming winter season.”, noted Mr. Stefan Abadzhiev. “We are positive, we are ready to provide full cooperation and in this regard we will analyze the proposals of Shumen Water Supply very carefully. Unfortunately, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to accept the proposals made, as the financial possibilities at the moment cannot allow us to credit our clients with such huge amounts of accumulated liabilities.”, he added.

With the latest price decision of the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DCEVR) from 01.08.2013. ENERGO-PRO is in a situation in which it is forced to calculate all expenses and revenues of the company extremely precisely in order to successfully continue to fulfill its obligations as an electricity supplier. A significant amount for arrears such as that of Shumen Water Supply practically assigns the company the role of a credit institution. A role that the activity of an electricity company cannot afford to assume. In the event that ENERGO-PRO is unable to respond positively to the parameters, part of the repayment plan proposed by Shumen Water Supply, the electricity supply company will respond with its proposal, which will demonstrate the terms and volumes of the amounts to be included in a rescheduling agreement between the two companies. The parameters of the agreement proposed by ENERGO-PRO will be scheduled in such a way that they are fully realistic and feasible by the water supply company. Another important condition in the preparation of the agreement is that the electricity company, in turn, has the financial opportunity to reschedule its claims from the Shumen Water Supply System.

“ENERGO-PRO is fully aware of the public importance of all water supply companies in the country and constantly makes efforts to successfully deal with the situation in which the plumbing company operating on the territory of the city of Shumen finds itself. We are aware of all the problems of the water supply company in the city, and we are aware that they are not limited to the accumulated debt to our company. 97% of the water in the Shumen water supply region is extracted using pumping stations. This, in addition to generating a large consumption of electricity, also entails significant costs for the water supply company. Our efforts will give a reasonable result only if we meet with cooperation from the management of the water supply company in Shumen. We welcome the desire and intentions of the new manager of Shumen Plumbing, Eng. Damyanov, to find a quick and adequate way to successfully deal with the problem and we are ready to continue to jointly look for the best way out of the created situation. We believe that with mutual efforts we will avoid the extremely undesirable option of resorting to the most serious measures provided for in the law and turning off the electricity supply to objects of the water supply company in the city of Shumen”, added Mr. Abadzhiev.