Bulgarians Protest over Electricity, Heating Bills

Around 500 people marched through Sofia and rallied in front of the economy and energy ministry on Sunday, some of them shouting "Mafia!" and demanding Dobrev's resignation.

Furious about rising electricity and heating bills over the winter, some of them also hurled snowballs at the minister, local media reported.

Sunday's protests in the EU's poorest member state drew thousands of people nationwide.

At least 3,000 protesters gathered in the southwestern town of Blagoevrgad, media reports said.

Demonstrations also took place in Plovdiv, Varna, Sandanski, Silistra, Gotse Delchev, Belene, Shumen, Yambol, Veliko Tarnovo, Burgas, Montana, Dobrich, Kardzhali and many other towns and cities, according to the Bulgarian press.

The protests were organised through social media after some consumers reported 100 per cent higher bills in December 2012 compared to the same period a year before.

Some angry protesters publicly burned their bills and threatened not to pay.

Two vehicles owned by power distributor EVN were set on fire in the city of Plovdiv on the eve of the protests.

Power distributors CEZ and Energo-Pro have said that the higher bills in December were caused by various factors including cold weather, the Christmas and New Year holidays, and an increase in electricity prices by nearly 14 per cent in Bulgaria from July 2012.

Energo-Pro promised that it would publish detailed information about the electricity bills.

The economy and energy ministry also said that an expert committee would examine the calculation of electricity bills for CEZ consumers.