Title: L Loch residents rally again over persistent power outages during holidays
Residents of L Loch have taken to the streets for a second time to protest ongoing power cuts that have lasted for days during the holiday season. This time, they gathered outside the office of the local power distribution company.
The power crisis began a week ago, leaving hundreds of families in the dark and cold for up to six days at a time. Heavy snowfall caused power lines to break, plunging the region into darkness.
The mayor of L Loch has filed complaints with the Ombudsman, the Minister of Energy, and the power distribution company. A collective lawsuit is also being prepared, as hundreds of customers in the region have gone without power for days due to network failures.
On December 30, disgruntled residents blockaded part of the Sofia-Varna highway at the Yablanitsa interchange, and today, they gathered outside the office of "Elektrohold" in L Loch.
Stoyan Borichev from Brestovo village told BNT, "Every day, nearly every day, there are power cuts, 2-3 times a day, night, morning, all the time. There have been long outages too. Last year, there was snow, and we had similar problems. We were without power for 66 hours. This year, we’ve broken the record – 73 hours."
Residents also expressed dissatisfaction with the new electricity price increases, given the current circumstances. Krasimir Pavlikyanov from Dragovo village commented, "The new electricity price… it’s like the ‘Quick’ group from before, they were making fools of us." Koycho Ivanov added, "They say the electricity was cheaper and should have been increased long ago. I look at the bill, and I tell my wife, ‘Do they bring it by Ferrari, it’s so expensive.’ Last year, four of my devices were fried, I still have two complaints to file."
The municipality has supported residents in submitting complaints to "Elektrohold". The complaints are of two types – one regarding the general terms and conditions, and the other relating to damaged appliances due to power surges.
At present, there are no areas in the L Loch region without power. Meanwhile, the KеVR has decided to adjust the water price for L Loch, which was previously on water rationing. The new price will be 4.85 BGN per cubic meter, down from the current 4.89 BGN. However, in Pleven, which also faced a water crisis, the water price will increase to 4.91 BGN from the previous 4.46 BGN.
