Miners and energy workers protested with a motorcade in defense of the "Maritsa East" complex

A protest motorcade of miners and energy workers from Stara Zagora closed roads in the Stara Zagora region and near the town of Nova Zagora during the Sunday holiday. The protest started from two points - Radnevo and Stara Zagora. At noon, dozens of cars gathered on the Stara Zagora-Kazanlak road in the Varkha area, where they blocked the movement of cars, after which the motorcade continued to Kazanlak and passed through the central part of the city. The protesters continued along the Sub-Balkan road Sofia - Burgas. Traffic on it was blocked near the junction for the town of Maglizh, and later in the day the last blocked section was in the Nova Zagora area on the road to Stara Zagora.

The protest was organized by the representatives of the newly established non-profit association "Miners and Energetics Together", BTA reported. Their main demands are the removal of carbon payments from the plants in the Mariski Basin until the construction of a carbon capture plant. According to them, this will give competitiveness to the pricing of electricity produced by coal-fired thermal power plants and a competitive environment in the production of electricity.

Among their demands is also the implementation of the concession contract of "Mini Maritsa-East", as an integral part of which is the reclamation of the lands in the complex - one part should remain agricultural land, and the rest should be included in the forest fund, as it is under the concession contract. The protesters are against the entry of household consumers into the free market, which they say will lead to "unthinkable price increases and exorbitant electricity bills".