The Governor of ENERGO-PRO met with the mayors of municipalities and chairmen of municipal councils of Silistra district
Within the framework of the meeting, issues related to the current state of the electricity distribution network in the area and the possibilities for improving the power supply conditions of customers were discussed
On 12.02.2014, the Governor of ENERGO-PRO, Mr. Stefan Abadzhiev met with mayors of municipalities and chairmen of municipal councils from Silistra district. The discussion was also attended by Mrs. Maria Dimitrova, Director of Customer Service and the Manager of Distribution Service Center Silistra and Dobrich. The meeting is part of the initiative for regular meetings with representatives of the local government, which the company's management undertook at the end of last year in order to maintain intensive communication and search for opportunities to strengthen the interaction between the two countries.
During the meeting, Mr. Abadzhiev presented information on the funds invested by the company in the last eight years in the electricity infrastructure in the area — implemented projects, rehabilitation of facilities and power lines.
The mayors, for their part, expressed satisfaction with the good interaction with the teams that serve their areas. During the severe winter conditions in the area at the end of January, the coordination between them was excellent, which allowed the electricians to deal more quickly with the accidents that occurred.
The municipal mayors very positively accepted the proposal of ENERGO-PRO to send them daily information about planned interruptions on the territory of Silistra district. This will further improve information exchange and cooperation between the company and municipal administrations.
During the meeting, another initiative of ENERGO-PRO — “Exported Office” was presented. The project is part of the campaign “At the service of the customer”, which the company launched in connection with World Consumer Day — March 15. Mrs. Maria Dimitrova explained that the purpose of the exported offices is for customers in small settlements to have the opportunity to have direct contact with employees of the company and to take advantage of the services offered by the company on the spot. The municipal mayors from Silistra region who were present at the discussion expressed their support for the initiative and assured the representatives of the ENERGO-PRO management that they would assist in the implementation of the project on the territory of their municipality, as this would save a lot of time and money for the clients. Both sides expressed their readiness to maintain a more intensive dialogue on the challenges they face in their activities and to improve interaction with each other to achieve sustainable results for the benefit of society as a whole.
Another topic of discussion was the current financial situation of the company and the problems faced by the company as a result of the series of price decisions of the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation in the past year. As a result of the three consecutive reductions, within just one year, which resulted in a reduction of the revenues necessary for the normal functioning of the company by BGN 80 million, ENERGO-PRO has to limit to a minimum the necessary investments for the maintenance and development of the network in North-East Bulgaria. Mr. Abadzhiev shared with the meeting attendees that the company is forced to rethink its investment policy for 2014, which will inevitably affect the quality of service of the facilities and make it difficult to rehabilitate and replace the outdated infrastructure. According to him, if the trend of reducing the company's share continues, customers can expect in the coming years the consequences of the severely limited investment resource.
In his presentation, Mr. Abadzhiev drew the attention of the representatives of the local government from Silistra region to the unrealized investment projects of ENERGO-PRO Networks in the region in 2013, which amounted to more than 620 thousand leva. “I would like to emphasize that given the complex economic and financial situation in the country, the investment costs declared by our company for 2013 are at the level of the absolute technological minimum necessary to maintain the network in a stable state. But you yourself understand that our investment opportunities are directly related to the investment costs recognized by the DCEFR for investments in the final prices. Precisely as a result of unrecognized investments and the investment program not approved by the Regulator, in the past year the funds invested in the development and rehabilitation of the electricity distribution network practice fell below the absolute minimum. “, he shared.
During the meeting, specific issues related to the state of electricity distribution facilities in the area were discussed. The mayors shared alerts from residents with information in which settlements in their region occur more frequent interruptions in the power supply of customers. After learning about the problems that the power supply disruptions cause to the people of the municipality, Mr. Abadzhiev undertook to detect the vulnerable places and take all measures within the limited investment possibilities of the company to solve situations related to the power supply of different areas.
The representatives of the local government also raised the question of the limited time they have to work with in preparing investment projects for obtaining financing under operational programs of the European Union. They made concrete proposals for closer cooperation with the electricity distribution company on similar projects in order to shorten these deadlines.
“We strive to always support municipalities in their efforts to implement important infrastructure projects that create favorable conditions for the development of the business climate in the area. We try to help them within the limited investment resource so that they can form the documents for applying for European funding in time, as this is in the interest of the people. “, shared the manager of ENERGO-PRO.
