The Chairwoman of the Civic Platform „Stand Up.BG“ Maya Manolova insists that the new Water Supply and Sewerage Services Act be withdrawn because it did not solve any of the problems of consumers and created preconditions for a drastic increase in the price of water. According to her, the bill is a gross violation of consumer rights.
Today, Manolova sent her opinion to the regional minister in connection with the draft of the Water Supply and Sewerage Services Act, which is in the process of public discussion until November 25, 2020.
A mandatory requirement is introduced for one Water Supply and Sewerage Services operator in one district with 100% or over 51% participation of the state in its capital. This means that well-functioning municipal water companies will be nationalized, Manolova said in her statement.
She is adamant that she does not agree with the introduction of three new access fees to each Water Supply and Sewerage service – for access to drinking water, sewerage and for a treatment plant. The three fees will be paid, whether water is used or not. They also have no ceiling and it is not clear how high they will be, she said.
Manolova is adamant that the establishment of an independent Commission for Water and Sewerage Services means that it will ensure that it will prepare and adopt the bylaws itself, and not to fulfill the powers set by the executive branch. She also insists that decisions of the Commission for Regulation of Water and Sewerage Services, which will determine the price of water, be taken unanimously by the three members, otherwise it turns out that two people will determine the prices of water and sewerage services in the country.
At the same time, consumers will not have the right to appeal the prices, and the law does not say how much the maintenance of this commission will cost the citizens. As an administrative and legal absurdity, Manolova stipulates that the Commission will adopt the regulations on prices and indicators for water supply and sewerage services, and then these prices (by the supposedly independent Commission) will be approved by the Council of Ministers.
Manolova emphasizes that the Water Supply and Sewerage Services Act does not specify a definition of „vulnerable consumer“ in connection with the receipt of „water aid„.
It is not clear why there will be individual contracts for industrial consumers, there will be none for household ones, and it is not clear for traders, budget enterprises and others whether there will be, she added in the opinion and added that the General Conditions to be public.
The draft of the new Water Supply and Sewerage Services Act is a gross violation of consumer rights because it provides for bailiffs and collectors to collect receivables from citizens with overdue bills and, accordingly, to suspend their access to water. Water and sewerage operators will open receivables collection directorates, which will undoubtedly increase the price of water. In Art. 96 and Art. 97 of the new Water Supply and Sewerage Services Act also provides for fines for individuals and legal entities, but it does not say who will issue the acts, Manolova wrote in the statement to the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works.
According to her, it is especially dangerous for consumers of Water Supply and Sewerage Services operators to prepare five-year business plans in which they can change the price of water in case of any increase in price-forming elements – fuel prices, electricity, minimum wage, water quantities, basic consumables, etc. The act creates a precondition for a new increase in the prices of water supply and sewerage services even before January 1, 2021 and remains with unclear goals and motives, Manolova is adamant.
She is adamant that the act will cause not only legal chaos and chaos in condominiums and heating and water bills. It is envisaged that 24 months after the entry into force of the Water Supply and Sewerage Services Act, people will install individual water meters and heat meters for remote reading. Whether the water supply and sewerage operators will be able to remotely report the data of the district heating companies to the subscriber and vice versa remains a mystery, despite the changes in the Energy Act, which will be adopted, Manolova explains.
The act does not solve the problem of so-called „total consumption„, including the fair redistribution of used quantities between consumers in one condominium, she said.
In connection with the nationalization of the municipal water companies, Manolova will meet today with citizens of Berkovitsa to preserve the municipal Water Supply and Sewerage Services in the city. Berkovitsa is one of the seven municipalities, along with Bratsigovo, Kresna, Petrich, Sapareva Banya, Strumyani and Troyan, that have spoken out publicly against the new Water Supply and Sewerage Services Act and the norm set in it for a district to be serviced by a Water and Sewerage Services operator. It was namely Berkovitsa that hosted the meeting between them. We remind you that there are 6 districts out of the 28 that have not yet achieved such consolidation, namely Blagoevgrad, Kyustendil, Pazardzhik, Montana, Razgrad and Lovech.
