"District Heating Sofia" is the

district heating District heating (also known as heat networks or teleheating) is a system for distributing heat generated in a centralized location through a system of insulated pipes for residential and commercial heating requirements such as space heating a ...

company in

Sofia Sofia ( ; bg, София, Sofiya, ) is the capital and largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain in the western parts of the country. The city is built west of the Iskar river, and ha ...

, the capital of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

. It is the oldest and largest district heating network in Bulgaria (and, according to the company's website, on the

Balkan Peninsula The Balkans ( ), also known as the Balkan Peninsula, is a geographical area in southeastern Europe with various geographical and historical definitions. The region takes its name from the Balkan Mountains that stretch throughout the who ...

), brought into use in 1949 with the opening of the first

combined heat and power Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...

plant – TEC Sofia.Toplofikatsiya Sofia - History
''(in Bulgarian)''. Retrieved 2 Mar 2013. Toplofikatsiya Sofia is a single-member JSC and holds a

monopoly A monopoly (from Greek language, Greek el, μόνος, mónos, single, alone, label=none and el, πωλεῖν, pōleîn, to sell, label=none), as described by Irving Fisher, is a market with the "absence of competition", creating a situati ...

on heat distribution in the city. As of 2012, the company has a hot water and steam distribution network of over 950 km throughout the city In Focus: Toplofikatsiya Sofia
''(in Bulgarian)'', Engineering-Review.bg, June 2012. Retrieved 2 Mar 2013.Toplofikatsiya Sofia Slide Presentation
''(in Bulgarian)'', NBU, 2008. Retrieved 2 Mar 2013.^{(slide 3)} and has over 430 000 clients.Toplofikatsiya Sofia - 2011 Financial Statement
''(in Bulgarian)'', Toplofikatsiya Sofia, 15 Mar 2012 Retrieved 2 Mar 2013.^(p. 15) The company has four power stations – two

cogeneration Cogeneration or combined heat and power (CHP) is the use of a heat engine or power station to generate electricity and useful heat at the same time. Cogeneration is a more efficient use of fuel or heat, because otherwise- wasted heat from elect ...

plants, and two

heat-only boiler station A heating plant, also called a physical plant, or steam plant, generates thermal energy in the form of steam for use in district heating applications. Unlike combined heat and power installations which produce thermal energy as a by-product ...

s – The company also has several temporary boiler stations throughout the city, which are usually only used during the winter months. As of February 2013, part of the 2013 Bulgarian protests are aimed at the business model employed by Toplofikatsiya Sofia, with protesters complaining about high bills and lack of transparency in the company's practices.Protest being organized against the high heating bills
''(in Bulgarian)'', Darik News, 4 Feb 2013. Retrieved 2 Mar 2013.

References

External links

toplo.bg
– official website {{Power stations in Bulgaria Coal-fired power stations in Bulgaria Economy of Sofia

See also

References

External links