Bulgaria: 450M leva aid for electricity bills at schools, community centres
A sum of 450 million leva is available for compensation for schools, community centres and children’s homes facing high electricity bills, Finance Minister Assen Vassilev said on February 4, replying to a question in the National Assembly.
The compensation will be up to 250 leva per megawatt-hour for the months of January and February, Vassilev said.
He said that a working group would additionally determine which municipalities have additional need of support.
It is proposed to create an option for purchasing electricity from a common supplier under long-term contracts, so that there will be predictability in the price of electricity, he said.
Vassilev said that the idea was for municipalities, kindergartens and schools “all those who want from the public sector” would be able to buy electricity together through a common supplier.
“This will allow 12 or 24-month price predictability, will make budgeting normal and will ensure that we have a free market on the one hand, on the other hand not every school principal has to become an electricity trader and understand the specifics of this activity,” he said.
The sum available for compensation came from additional revenue, Vassilev said.
Earlier this week, Prime Minister Kiril Petkov said that the government was willing to assist municipalities facing soaring electricity bills, but those seeking aid would first be subject to checks by the Public Financial Inspection Agency as to how they had handled public procurements.
(Photo: Joe Zlomek/freeimages.com)
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