“Rising electricity and petrol prices are posing a serious challenge to us. And we must act now. Resources must be used efficiently, and legal changes to build solar parks for one’s own needs are more than necessary. They will be used by municipalities and businesses to build photovoltaic systems that will ensure our energy independence.” – said Mayor of Plovdiv Zdravko Dimitrov, in his opening speech at the forum “Energy Plan: State of the Sector and Business Solutions”, held in the Bishop’s Basilica of Philippopolis.
The mayor reminded that Plovdiv has its own examples of building energy systems. Such are placed on top of the buildings of High School “Konstantin-Kiril Filosof” and DG “Zora” and supply the street lighting surrounding them.
The forum is organized by the Municipality of Plovdiv and Confindustria Bulgaria. Its aim is to examine the current situation in the energy sector and to propose concrete solutions for optimizing the energy costs of companies. Deputy Mayor for Education, Business Development and European Policies Stefan Stoyanov participated in the main section of the forum – a round table discussion.
During the round table on “Situation and trends in the electricity market: between idealism and realism”, he recalled that many kindergartens and schools in Plovdiv were renovated years ago. “About 20 kindergartens and schools have been rehabilitated. This saves about BGN 1 million from electricity bills. In 3 years we will save BGN 3-3.5 million, which is the cost of building a new kindergarten, “said Stoyanov, who recalled that 40% of street lamps have already been replaced with LED ones, which also affects energy costs.
“For us as investors in Bulgaria, the topic of energy efficiency is of particular importance,” said Roberto Santorelli, chairman of Confindustria Bulgaria, Association of Italian Business in Bulgaria. “We believe that it is right to work together to find a solution to current issues, and today one of them is the price of electricity. This has proved impossible for many companies and therefore our commitment is to offer cooperation with available, adequate and timely solutions,” he added. According to him, Confindustria Bulgaria has prepared an action plan “The Road to Energy Independence of Companies”, with which businesses can shape their energy independence and optimize their costs.
Before the start of the forum, a delegation led by the Ambassador of Italy to Bulgaria Giuseppina Zarra visited Mayor Zdravko Dimitrov. H.E. Zarra introduced the mayor to a pilot project developed by the Italian Embassy in Bulgaria together with the America for Bulgaria Foundation for agriculture as a potential for tourism development in the region.
