The Director of Bulgargaz, Bulgaria’s State gas supplier, Dimitar Gogov, explains the 30% hike of gas prices with their previous artificial reduction by the cabinet.

On Wednesday, Bulgaria’s State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) put to public discussion the staggering gas price increase expected on July 1.

The looming price hike is explained by Bulgargaz with Russia increasing gas prices and the value of the USD drastically going up since this is the currency used by Bulgargaz to pay the Russian Gazprom.

The Head of DKEVR, Angel Semerdzhiev, is optimistic the price can go up by 24% to 25% instead of 30%, but Gogov says Bulgargaz will sell at a loss if they do not get the 30%, and faces the threat of not being able to pay Gazprom upfront. The company is missing revenues of BGN 90 M over the artificial maintenance of low gas prices and already has losses in the amount of BGN 50 M.

Bulgargaz offers only a small light at the end of the tunnel, saying that if the price goes up 30% now, in the next quarter the increase would be smaller and less shocking. Semerdzhiev, on his part, forecasts gas prices even going down in the winter and appeases consumers that the 12% increase of hot water prices in the summer over the new gas prices would not be felt much by the households.

The gas price hike will, however, have serious effect on the industrial sector, where workers from “Radomir Metal Industries,” from western Bulgaria say they will go on hunger strike next week if the cabinet, the labor unions and the employers approve the new price, asked by Bulgargaz.

The production process there completely depends on natural gas and will lead to layoffs and bankruptcy, workers and labor unions say.

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