In spite of a planned loss of BGN7 million in 2011, the Sofia Heating Company made a profit of BGN23 million last year. As a surprise to many energy experts and observers the news was announced on Wednesday (1 February), as a report of the Executive Director of the heating company Stoyan Tsvetanov.
For comparison, in the period 1996 – 2010 the heating company of the capital has been posting consistently negative results, and its total negative financial result for this period amounted to BGN370 million.
Now the profit is due to the better management of the company, reduced transmission losses and savings as well as the greater volume of heat and power produced, Mr. Tsvetanov said. Indeed, according to data in the company’s public statement, the technical costs of transmission are reduced by 1.27% or by BGN4 million. Yet the leaks in the transmission network are about 17-18 percent and this year the company is set to pay more attention to this problem. This component is charged to the bills of all subscribers.
According to estimates of the company’s management for the purpose is has planned to invest BGN47 million and 14 million of this sum will come as a grant from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. A number of repairs is forthcoming: for example in the thermal power plant Sofia-East and the generators of the plant, Tsvetanov said. The company has started an investment project for BGN32 million to build a new turbine in TPP Sofia. It will produce electricity and heat as co-generation, which will increase the plant’s productivity and reduce consumption of natural gas.
For the period by 2015 we plan to invest BGN350 million in investments and repairs of them between 80 and 100 million will be own funds and the rest will come from the International Kozloduy Fund and Environment and Competitiveness operational programmes of the EU, said Executive Director of the Central Heating Company- Sofia.
