The cost of living rising again

Good morning/evening
 
So one of the plus sides of living in Bulgaria was the cost of living was a lot less than the UK, although that was not the main factor for us living here as originally it was just going to be a holiday home, but we ended up loving it and took the plunge to live here full time.
 
Like everywhere that cost of living has gone up, inflation has hit everyone and I hate to think how hard it must be now for some people just to have the basics, a roof over their head (whether buying or renting) the normal monthly bills and to put food on the table. Our monthly expenses have almost doubled over time but the rental income we receive from our house in the UK has not.
 
So where am I going with this? Well our electricity is about to go up AGAIN another 14% and water 8%. As for the water, well what comes out of the tap is not suitable for drinking and most people in villages have septic tanks and some have wells for irrigation. Every village does have at least one spring supplying water and you will often see the villagers queuing with their bottles to fill up.
 

 
The electricity, although more stable than it used to be, still has its moments. The whole week before Christmas it was off every day and plan B for Christmas dinner was something that could be cooked on a gas hob! (not mains gas, that is not available, but bottled gas for an emergency boiling of the kettle!) Nobody wants to see me without having had a cup of tea!
 
Now on the way to our local city construction is underway of a new hybrid renewable energy site. This is the largest investment of it's kind in the whole of Bulgaria.
 
"Теnеvо Ѕоlаr" іѕ а hуbrіd рrојесt соnѕіѕtіng оf thrее mаіn раrtѕ - thе fіrѕt іѕ thе рhоtоvоltаіс роwеr рlаnt wіth 237 mеgаwаttѕ оf іnѕtаllеd сарасіtу, thе ѕесоnd іѕ а fасіlіtу fоrеnеrgу ѕtоrаgе wіth 250 mеgаwаttѕ оf соnnесtеd роwеr аnd 500 mеgаwаtt hоurѕ оf еnеrgу ѕtоrаgе сарасіtу. Тhе thіrd іѕ а wіnd fаrm wіth а tоtаl сарасіtу оf 250 mеgаwаttѕ. Аll thеѕе fасіlіtіеѕ wіll ореrаtе аѕ а ѕіnglе соmрlех fоr gеnеrаtіng сlеаn еnеrgу аnd аrе thе fіrѕt рrојесt оf thіѕ ѕсаlе іn оur соuntrу аnd а hugе ѕtер іn thе rеаl еnеrgу trаnѕfоrmаtіоn.
Аll оf thеѕе fасіlіtіеѕ іn thе fіnаl рhаѕе оf thе рrојесt wіll ореrаtе аѕ а ѕіnglе соmрlех fоr gеnеrаtіng сlеаn еnеrgу аnd аrе thе fіrѕt lаrgе-ѕсаlе рrојесt іn thе rеgіоn.
Тhе рhоtоvоltаіс роwеr рlаnt ѕhоuld bе fullу соmрlеtеd іn еаrlу 2025, thе оthеr twо ѕtаgеѕ wіll bе іmрlеmеntеd іn thе nехt 5 уеаrѕ. The solar farm is expected to generate more than 300GWh of electricity a year and save 250,000 tonnes of carbon emissions annually.
balkangreenenergynews.com
 

 
We already have many solar and wind farms in Bulgaria which is great, but surely at some point the cost of the electricity should go down and not up! 
 
I understand that compared to the UK our bills are a lot lower and I have used my parents and our actual costs, some will use more, some will use less, we are fortunate that we can afford thes basic amenities, I know there are some that struggle but surely all of this renewable energy should reduce the costs for the average citizen? The sunlight of which we have an abundance here is free!

UK (parents)
Water $370
Electric and gas combined $1400
 
Bulgaria (us)
Water $192
Electric $770
 
Every now and then I consider buying a crypto miner, I like passive income then I look at the costs of buying one as well as the running costs and think it is probably best to just buy some of the tokens, especially a Bitcoin miner but when compared to the cost of electric in the UK I pay a very small amount. 
 
At the end of the day I do appreciate how fortunate I am and although I do think that solar and wind renewable energy is a great idea, at some point it would be nice for costs to come down.
 
How are your average electricity and water costs compared to these? Do you have your own solar panels and does that save you money on your bills? Would you consider buying a crypto miner?

As always, thank you for reading and feel free to comment,I would love to hear your views.

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