Water and sewerage bills set to rise by 15% as of January 1

The prices of water and sewerage services will rise from 1 January 2024, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission said on December 22.

The Water and Sewerage Commission has adopted a decision to amend the prices of services approved by the business plans of water and sewerage operators for the next year.

The regulator's decision amends the prices of water and sewerage services of 38 water and sewerage operators - 27 regional state companies, 4 municipal and 7 private operators.

The utilities watchdog told BTA the average increase for the country for water and sewerage services is 15%.

One of the factors for the price change is the inflation index applied according to the statutory methodology for the period from the approval of the business plans to the adoption of the current decision, the regulator said.

The reason for the price adjustments is also the fact that the EWRC reduced the prices of a number of water and sewerage companies approved under the business plans for 2023 due to the failure to meet their investments and the levels of the uniform performance indicators for the period 2020-2021.

The annual 15% increase in wages in the sector is also included as a price-setting element, which the Commission is obliged to take into account according to the signed national agreement between the Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works, "Bulgarian Water Supply Holding" and the branch trade union "Water Supplier" - CITUB, the regulator clarified.

The full text of the utilities regulator's decision on amending the approved prices of water and sewerage services for 2024 is published on the regulator's website.

On 1 December, the EWRC pointed out that for 6 regional companies the planned increase is by more than 20% compared to the current prices - in the districts of Sliven, Vidin, Gabrovo, Vratsa, Haskovo and Lovech. In 8 regional companies, an increase of less than 10%r cent is foreseen for the prices of water and sewerage services in 2024 compared to the current prices for the current year. According to the regulator's calculations, these are the districts of Kyustendil, Shumen, Pernik, Sofia district, Silistra, Stara Zagora, Varna and Pleven.