“Serbian power plants buy coal from “Mini Maritza-Istok”, generate electricity and sell it to us. The situation is absurd. We are here because last October there were some talks, there was some agreement text, which I did not sign then, because with unarmed it was obvious to the eye that no one had any intention of carrying it out, as it happened, which is why we are here again, once again communicating with them in this way instead of the other, which they say was more civilized”.
He said this in an interview in “Focus” the president of KT “Podkrepa” Dimitar Manolovwhich we meet where it belongs, at the National protest rally that the Confederation of Labor organized together with its colleagues from the KNSB.
More than 1,500 energy workers are protesting under the windows of the government at this hour, and the center of Sofia continues to be under blockade. The national protest is taking place amid the second reading of the Energy Act, which proposes to postpone the liberalization of the electricity market by a year.
The workers in the “Maritsa-Iztok” complex, “Bobov dol” TPP, “Brickel” TPP and “Toplofikatsia-Pernik” are on site. Some of them were admitted to the building of the National Assembly. Energy companies and miners continue to insist on a guaranteed purchase by the state of the electricity produced by them, as well as an adequate energy strategy.
According to the trade unionists, nothing that was promised to them in October by the previous government has been fully implemented.
Mr. Manolov, for so many years you are always on the post about the protests. You just told me off the air, so to speak, that you are expecting another 1,000 people who are not yet able to join their fellow energy workers.
There is some problem with the organization of the movement, I guess they will join at any moment. And of course, inside the National Assembly, I found out that there are about 200 of our people who are watching what is happening, which is good, because then they can tell their colleagues how the debate is going on inside and who they are and what arguments they have against it , with which the National Assembly deals internally, even if these decisions are half-hearted, there is nothing to be fooled about.
But in any case, the idea of giving Mini “Maritsa Iztok” a breath of fresh air is a step in the right direction, and so is the postponement of the liberalization of electricity prices. Another issue is that it should continue further – the liberalization of prices for household consumers should also be postponed, because with what is expected to happen with prices, nothing good awaits the household consumers.
Energy and miners themselves warn that residential consumers will not be ready for this liberalization even after this year’s delay.
Yes Yes Yes. This is absolutely true, because it is assumed, or at least the prices are pan-European, but our incomes are not pan-European. So this strain that is going to happen on budgets is certainly unbearable in the current state, so there is a lot of logic in what the colleagues want. What will happen is another matter. Any mechanisms to compensate for price increases are a dodgy business. The reliable thing is to have such an income that we can pay our electricity.
For years, you, as the president of KT “Podkrepa”, have been one of the few people who talks to the authorities, both at the tripartite level, and in the Council of Ministers, and in the parliament. How much of your job is persuasion?
I am becoming increasingly pessimistic. Perhaps with age and experience I am becoming more pessimistic, or the people I talk to are becoming more unfit, or a combination of both. It is difficult to talk and results are not achieved. We are here because last October there were some talks, there was some agreement text, which I did not sign at the time, because it was obvious to the naked eye that no one intended to implement it, and that is why we are here again, we are communicating again with them in this way instead of the other, which they cry that he was more civilized.
We found out that there are people here, energy workers from Pernik, Ruse, Bobov dol, Gabrovo, Dimitrovgrad, Sliven, from which other cities?
Yes, yes. These are the colleagues who work in the other generations, as they are called thermal energy, because they want the production they produce to be included in the energy mix, for which they have reason due to the closure of one of the boilers in the “Maritsa Iztok” complex and the severe deficit of electricity received in Bulgaria. And now we are in the absurd situation: there are Serbian power plants that buy coal from “Maritsa Iztok”, make electricity and sell it to us, isn’t it, that’s absurd. So they have their reasons for wanting their production included.
Are you staying here all day? At least that’s what your fellow trade unionists promised under the arrangement.
We will stay as long as it takes. Of course, after the National Assembly is over, we will go inside to talk in a different way with the Energy and Social Commission about what measures will be taken to soften the blow on people who lose their jobs and what will happen. from then on, although on this subject I am the least optimistic. At least because no one knows what will happen there, no one knows.
I don’t accept such empty talk, such as qualification and retraining, because I understand the qualification as such for a certain workplace, and we don’t know what will happen there. If there are jobs, what will they be? And the other big problem is that people working in the Energy sector are well paid, and the idea of offering them jobs with other pay, you probably know what I mean, is totally unacceptable. And we’ll see what happens, but the talks will start.
The timing is interesting, Mr. Manolov.
And we go to Bismarck: where the most lies were made after hunting and before elections. Yes, there will be some, that will certainly be present. The point is that those people who will vote should do so with meaning. It’s easy for me personally. I have a question for the politicians: do you hate the Green Deal? Because we are in it, everything comes to us from it.
Thank you.
