Only 13 per cent of Bulgarian households are ready to pay higher charges for clean energy, the Centre for the Study of Democracy (CSD) said on Monday. This became clear from an opinion poll conducted by the Centre in November 2009 in the context of the Copenhagen talks and the upcoming heating season.

Of these 13 per cent, 82.5 per cent would accept only a minor change of their electricity bills of up to 10 per cent.

The readiness to pay more for green energy is directly related to the levels of income, CSD said. Households with lower income are champions of the cheaper energy acquired from standard sources.

Sixty-three per cent of the population use firewood for heating as it keeps on being the cheapest energy material. This shows that sustainable development through renewable energy sources is not backed by consumers in Bulgaria and that economic incentives and campaigns are needed to raise citizens' awareness to this end, CSD said. Its experts recommend that the Bulgarian Government should strike a balance between the new investments and the effect of the markup of prices on the socially-disadvantaged.

Source: BTA