TPP AES Galabovo won a prestigious award for safety and health at work for good practices against COVID-19

March 15, 2021

TPP AES Galabovo won a prestigious award for safety and health at work for good practices in the fight against Covid-19 implemented at the power plant in 2020. The most modern coal-fired power plant in Bulgaria was awarded first place in the category Large Enterprises at the ‘Annual National Awards for Safety and Health at Work’ 2020.

The competition is organized by the Foundation Center for Safety and Health at Work and is held with the support of the Executive Agency ‘General Labor Inspectorate’.

The high-profile jury of the competition which includes representatives of the Executive Agency ‘General Labor Inspectorate’, Foundation Center for Safety and Health at Work, employers and employees’ organizations, highly appreciated the examples presented by TPP AES Galabovo for reliable measures and good practices undertaken by the company last year to protect the life and health of its people during the COVID-19 pandemic. The award was presented by Rumyana Mihailova, Executive Director of the ‘General Labor Inspectorate’.

‘This recognition, this independent expert assessment, gives us confidence that the consistent efforts we make as a team to ensure the life and health of our people and limit the spread of the virus are an example of good practices that we can share with other employers at the national level’, Todor Belezhkov, Plant Manager at AES Bulgaria commented. ‘Protecting the life and health of our colleagues and ensuring the continuity of energy supplies from TPP AES Galabovo to have electricity for Bulgarian citizens and companies in a state of emergency was a key priority for us last year, Todor Belezhkov stated.

After the introduction of the state of emergency in the country due to the COVID-19 pandemic, AES Bulgaria has taken several measures to reduce the risks to the health of its employees. The access of external persons to the power plant was performed under strict measures, and an energy workers’ small town was built at the site of TPP AES Galabovo with premises for temporary accommodation in case of deepening of the crisis to ensure continuity of power generation and guarantee the country’s energy security. The company also provided PCR tests for COVID-19 for all its employees.