With the votes of three municipalities in the Shumen region – Shumen, Kaolinovo and Veliki Preslav – the business plan of the local water utility has been blocked for the next five years. The plan includes a 50% increase in water prices. According to the calculations of ViK-Shumen, the price of a cubic metre of water is expected to rise from €3.05 currently to €4.60 by 2031.
The water utility’s business plan was rejected at a meeting of the Association of Water Supply and Sewerage Operators (AViK) in the Shumen region. Representatives of six of the region’s 10 municipalities attended the meeting, along with regional governor Georgi Zhekov, representing the state, which owns 51% of the shares in ViK-Shumen. The remaining 49% are distributed among the municipalities according to their population.
Although the state holds a majority stake, a decision by the AViK requires the support of three-quarters of those present. This gives smaller shareholders, such as Kaolinovo, the ability to influence decisions within the association.
Kaolinovo, Shumen and Veliki Preslav voted against ViK-Shumen’s business plan through 2031, as well as against the company’s investment programme for 2026. Regional governor Georgi Zhekov, representing the state, voted in favour, together with the municipalities of Varbitsa, Kaspichan and Novi Pazar, but their votes were not enough to approve the plans.
Representatives of Kaolinovo, Shumen and Veliki Preslav cited serious reasons for opposing the ViK business plan and investment programme: insufficient investment in the network, a lack of accountability, persistently high water losses, low household incomes and poor water quality. Their main objection was the sharp increase in water prices, which they argue is not justified by the quality of service provided by ViK-Shumen.
ViK investment in Kaolinovo falls sharply
In 2025, ViK-Shumen invested BGN 51,376 in public water infrastructure in Kaolinovo municipality, according to the municipality’s official reports. The largest amounts went towards partial repairs to water pipelines supplying the villages of Todor Ikonomovo, Pristoe, Branichevo and Zagoriche – BGN 15,705 – and the villages of Lyatno and Dolina – BGN 16,634.
However, the amount invested was half that of the previous year. In 2024, Kaolinovo municipality reported BGN 107,357 in investment in public water and sewerage assets.
This was one of the reasons Kaolinovo opposed the new ViK business plan, arguing that it does not provide for large-scale renewal of ageing water networks and pumping stations.
In autumn 2025, during a meeting at the regional administration on the water crisis in the region, Kaolinovo officials called for legislative changes to help local authorities develop alternative water sources. They argued that the current regulatory framework makes it difficult to explore new boreholes and connect them to existing water systems.
Other mayors also identified the extremely slow procedures for surveying and registering new water sources as a problem, along with the lengthy process local authorities must go through – from designing a borehole to putting it into operation. Municipalities also highlighted the substantial investment required to develop new sources.
The final decision rests with the regulator
Although the Association of Water Supply and Sewerage Operators rejected the Shumen utility’s business plan, this does not necessarily mean the plan will not take effect. The final decision rests with the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC), the state regulator responsible for approving the business plans of water utilities and setting water prices.
The Shumen regional association also rejected the utility’s previous business plan for 2022–2026. The EWRC nevertheless approved the proposed price increases.
Over five years, the price of water in the Shumen region rose sharply, from BGN 3.40 in 2021 to around BGN 6 in 2026. But the higher prices have not produced the expected results.
On the contrary, at the end of 2025, ViK-Shumen again ranked first in the country for water losses, with a staggering 83.67% of water lost from the system. This came despite hundreds of millions of euros in European and national funding being invested in water infrastructure, and despite consumers in Shumen paying among the highest water prices in Bulgaria.
Against this backdrop, the new ViK-Shumen business plan envisages another substantial increase over the next five years: €3.67 per cubic metre in 2027, €4.02 in 2028, €4.45 in 2029, €4.75 in 2030 and €4.60 in 2031.
