site.btaBTA and Bulgarian Committee on Lighting to Cooperate

Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) Director General Kiril Valchev and the Bulgarian National Committee on Lighting (BNCL) Board Chair Radi Pipev signed a partnership agreement at the BTA National Press Club in Sofia on Friday.

Under the agreement, BTA will receive materials, photos and videos from BNCL events with cleared copyright to strengthen media coverage of lighting topics in Bulgaria. The agency will also rely on the Committee’s expert support for upgrading its own lighting systems and related project documentation.

Valchev noted that BNCL is an organization with a long-standing tradition. He presented Pipev with several BTA archival articles related to the National Committee on Lighting. The oldest one, titled "For Better Lit Streets and Roads", dates from January 31, 1968 - a year after the original commission was reorganized as the National Committee on Lighting. Valchev added that lighting issues have not received sufficient attention in BTA or the Bulgarian media in general, and said he expected the agreement to help promote the adoption of modern, efficient lighting solutions.

Valchev also highlighted BTA projects under the Beautiful Bulgaria programme for renovating its building on Tsarigradsko Shose Boulevard, which includes corridor lighting modernization, and under the Regions in Growth programme, covering a full lighting replacement, photovoltaic installations, new climate control and building insulation. Thanks to BNCL’s advice, the Beautiful Bulgaria project will include automated lighting with motion sensors to optimize electricity costs in BTA corridors, a model he suggested other state institutions should follow.

Pipev said the cooperation would benefit both parties, adding that parts of Bulgaria remain poorly lit or unlit and that there is a lack of a clear strategic vision for public lighting.