“Ministry of Energy investigates whereabouts of donated air conditioners for flood victims in Karlovy Vary”

Where are the 123 air conditioners – a donation for the severely injured people in the flooded villages of Karlovy Vary last September? In the victims’ homes or not? This will be checked by the Ministry of Energy.

At the beginning of the year, 212 air conditioners were donated. 89 have been installed. And not only that – they don’t have electricity in Karavelovo because of unpaid bills. According to the people and the municipality of Karlovo, the Ministry of Energy has promised to cover the bills of the most affected homes for the duration of the heating season.

The mayor of Karlovo asked ME when he will pay the electricity to the victims of the flood

In the home of Semko Georgiev from Karavelovo, there is no electricity for the second day. They are heated with a wood stove. Already in February, he installed the air conditioner donated by the ministry and fulfilled the condition of presenting a warranty card with the date of installation to the Municipality by March 10.

“Yesterday I went to EVN and they said that there are no agreements, they are a commercial company, they have no agreements with the municipality or the ministry. For the two months, the electricity bills are BGN 250,” said Semko Georgiev to BNT.

89 are the installed air conditioners. Most people have already paid their bills for fear of being without power.

“This is not good – everyone quietly pays for themselves, for fear of being cut off. They said they were giving away air conditioners, but in fact they were hiding,” added Semko Georgiev.

The Ministry of Energy explained that their commitment is not for the entire bills, but only for the consumption of the air conditioner, from the date of installation until the end of the heating season.

Many people expect to be paid in full. No, we will only help with energy for the period of their use. However, this will be done after an inspection, because 212 air conditioners were donated to the municipality of Karlovo. We are extremely disappointed by the inadequate, not to say bad administration or bad way of administering this assistance by the Municipality of Karlovo. What’s more – after 212 air conditioners were distributed and 89 were installed, the question arises – what happens to the others?” said Elenko Bozhkov – Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Energy.

The Municipality indicated that they wrote a letter to the Ministry a month ago because of the many questions about when and how the electricity costs will be covered.

“We only know that the energy needed for the winter heating season will be partially or fully absorbed.”

And how will it happen, did the municipality know?

“No, and we don’t know now. We expect the company that produces green energy to make a payment to the families who fulfilled the condition,” said Emil Kabaivanov, mayor of Karlovo.

The only commitment of the Municipality was to send the warranty cards for the installation of the air conditioners on time. The mayor has no worries about the inspection.

“Everything is done by the decision of the Public Council and the Municipal Council and no mistake can be made, we will provide you with the lists of the air conditioners signed by hand,” said Dr. Emil Kabaivanov, Mayor of Karlovo.