Power Consumption Peaks Again, River Iskar Freezes
Power consumption soared to a new record high on Wednesday as record low temperatures were registered in another sixteen locations across the country.
A total of 154 million kilowatt hours were consumed in the country in the past 24 hours, bTV station reported Wednesday evening. A day earlier power consumption stood at 153 milion kilowatt hours. The three power distributing companies in the country said they had taken all measures to avoid power disruptions.
Temperatures dropped to minus 31.4 degrees Celsius in Sevlievo, in northcentral Bulgaria, on Wednesday, making it the coldest place in the country so far this winter, the Bulgarian National Television (BNT) reported.
River Iskar, in the country's west, froze in its middle course between Svoge and Mezdra, forcing the small hydropower plants along the river to suspend operations.
The Black Sea along the coast of Burgas also froze but this did not affect shipping.
The freezing weather blocked many cash machines in the capital Sofia, BNT reported.
According to weather forecasts, temperatures will rise by four to five degrees on Thursday, as many parts of the country will have light snow.
It was minus 11 degrees Celsius in Sofia by 8 a.m. on Thursday, the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology reported.