AES Bulgaria: The world will overcome the COVID-19 crisis with the effort and support of us all

(11.05.20)

Energy workers’ small town is only one of the numerous measures against COVID-19 undertaken by the company

Safety comes first at AES. We harness one of the world’s most powerful forces: electricity. Our people always have safety in mind when they come to work each day. We ensure that each employee can return home safely. It is central to our daily activities and decisions. We always put people’s wellbeing first, and we measure our success by how safely we achieve our goals.

In the context of the ongoing COVID-19 crisis, we are committed to aiding Bulgaria through this challenging time. Supporting national and local efforts against COVID-19 became one of the most important tasks of AES Bulgaria. A major part of this effort is providing continuous power supply by producing reliable energy for all our customers and actively supporting the grid management.

We are committed to protecting the health of our employees. They in turn work to provide power that is essential for the uninterrupted functioning of hospitals, industries and households during the pandemic.
That is why, since the very beginning of the pandemic, all AES Bulgaria employees who are able to work from home have been doing so. For those whose presence is required at the sites, strict safety protocols for preserving their health have been implemented. AES Bulgaria built for its employees a specialized ‘small town’ for energy workers at the site of TPP AES Galabovo. The project is part of the company’s business continuity plan and guarantees the energy supplies during the COVID-19 pandemic. The ‘energy workers’ small town’ consists of 31 fully equipped containers with bedrooms and sanitary facilities. These mobile houses can accommodate specialists from TPP AES Galabovo in case of further escalation of the COVID-19 crisis. This way the power plant will continue operating and the risk of infection of critical experts for the operations will be significantly reduced.

In case continuity in power generation is compromised by the pandemic, employees will be accommodated for 2 weeks on a shift basis in the modern containers in order to ensure that they won’t in any way be exposed to Covid-19. Before entering the ‘‘energy workers’ small town’, all employees will be tested to minimize the risk that they are infected with the Coronavirus.

The energy workers’ small town is one of numerous measures against COVID-19 undertaken by AES Bulgaria. As a company we have always been actively involved in different corporate social responsibility projects that make a lasting difference. In this challenging situation our social oriented projects continue.

AES Bulgaria supported financially the “United against COVID-19” joint initiative of the US embassy in Bulgaria, AmCham Bulgaria, the America and Bulgaria Foundation and Bulgarian Donors’ Forum. So far, the initiative has supported 106 projects in more than 65 locations in Bulgaria with nearly BGN 1 million. The beneficiaries are hospitals, civic organizations, community centers, and social enterprises. At the end of April, the final round of applications for funding under the United Against Covid-19 Response Fund was conducted. A total of 693 project proposals were submitted and after careful evaluation those that will be supported will be chosen.

The world will overcome the COVID-19 crisis with the effort and support of us all. AES Bulgaria is proud to be actively involved in projects and operations that secure the wellbeing of the people.