Foreign energy companies make Bulgaria's energy expensive

The Bulgarian energy authority has accused foreign energy companies of unlawful price increases. Three companies control the Bulgarian market, EVN from Austria, Eon from Germany and ČEZ from the Czech Republic. The daily Standart writes that although the prices are capitalist, the services Bulgarian consumers receive resemble those under socialism: "There was a time when people paid their bills and didn't ask why electricity was so cheap, because it was socialist electricity. Today they pay and don't know why it's so expensive, because it's capitalist electricity. ... Didn't we want to live in a market economy based on competition? Instead power failures are still very much the order of the day, just like under socialism. ... Today as back then, there's nowhere you can find out about prices and services. The complaints desks may be freshly renovated but it's still the same old people sitting behind them calling the shots as far as our electricity goes - just like back then. And while we're paying market prices, they give us communist services - just like back then."

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