Bulgarian Watchdog Vows No Job Cuts at Coal Mining Firms, TPPs

The outgoing panel of Bulgaria's State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) has assured protesting miners and workers in the energy and railway sectors that the upcoming decrease in electricity prices will not result in the suspension of any thermal power plant.

At a meeting on Tuesday, DKEVR members told representatives of the protesters that all TPPs would keep functioning.

DKEVR made clear that the electricity price decrease by an average 7% from March 5 would not be introduced through changes to the energy mix, meaning that the workload of coal mining companies and coal-fired TPPs working on Bulgarian coal would not be affected.

The protesters headed for the building of the Ministry of Economy, Energy and Tourism to demand a confirmation of the assurances of the watchdog.

The rally continues peacefully, according to reports of econ.bg, the only traffic block being along the Dondukov Blvd in downtown Sofia.

Around 3000 protesters gathered Tuesday morning in Sofia to demand guarantees that their jobs would be preserved.

The people chanted "Mafia", "We want work", We claim our rights."

There was increased police presence in front of the DKEVR building.

The protesters fear, among other things, that the Bobov Dol and Brikel TPPs may be switched off due to the decreased electricity consumption and reduced exports.

The crowd does not believe DKEVR's vows that the components of the energy mix will remain unchanged.

DKEVR is expected to announce Tuesday afternoon a reduction in electricity prices by 7.17% for customers of CEZ, by 7.28% for customers of EVN, by 6.22% for customers of Energo-Pro as of March 5.