Position of ENERGO-PRO on statements made to the media by the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria Maya Manolova

ENERGO-PRO strongly disagrees with the statements made by the Ombudsman of the Republic of Bulgaria Maya Manolova on July 4 to one of the leading television media in connection with arbitration cases to which ENERGO-PRO is a party.

Some of Ms. Manolova's claims create misconceptions among the public. The assertion that there is a very common practice of bringing arbitration cases without an arbitration clause in which ENERGO-PRO participates is not true. The initiation of an arbitration procedure is possible only in the presence of documentary consent of both disputing parties.

The assertion that ENERGO-PRO has its own arbitration is categorically not true. Arbitration bodies are independent judicial institutions that are established and operate according to the laws of the Republic of Bulgaria. ENERGO-PRO cannot influence the decisions of any judicial institution in Bulgaria, including arbitration courts. As an active company, ENERGO-PRO cooperates with various specialists and companies providing legal services. But the company's policy of offering its clients the advantages of a simplified arbitration mechanism for dispute resolution is not related and does not affect the choice of companies providing legal advice and services on specific issues.

ENERGO-PRO conducts arbitration cases for illegal consumption of electrical energy. These are cases where electricity is consumed, but not accounted for and paid by the customer. Arbitration cases are only 6% of the total number of lawsuits that the company has brought for illegal electricity consumption in recent years. The remaining 94% of cases related to adjustment of accounts have been or are still being pursued in civil courts.

ENERGO-PRO does not accept the claim made in connection with costs in the cases brought by ENERGO-PRO Networks and ENERGO-PRO Sales that it makes no sense for the two companies to file claims in order to collect their claims from the debtors. This statement does not correspond to the Bulgarian energy legislation, according to which ENERGO-PRO Grids and ENERGO-PRO Sales are separate companies licensed under the Energy Act, whose activities are separate and which provide their customers with various services — distribution and supply of electrical energy. Both companies have relations with customers independently of each other and collect completely different claims from their debtors.

By following the best European practices through the use of arbitration procedure, ENERGO-PRO makes it possible to reach a quick and effective understanding of disputes. Arbitration proceedings significantly reduce both the cost of legal services and the time for resolving disputes that arise in connection with the services and activities of companies in the free and regulated electricity market. No client of ENERGO-PRO is denied a free choice of judicial institution in the event of a dispute. Moreover, the clients of the company in each case have the opportunity to choose whether to consider the dispute in an arbitration court or in the general courts of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The issue of the existence of an arbitration clause in the documents of ENERGO-PRO was considered by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) in 2015. The Commission concluded that the existence of an arbitration clause and the manner in which it is present in the forms complies with Bulgarian law. Apart from the ECHR's conclusion, the wording of the arbitration clause in the company's documents was reviewed by the Consumer Protection Commission and is in line with the Commission's instructions given to ENERGO-PRO in 2015.