The Working Group of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission proposes to increase its natural gas price by 13.89% from 1 October. Unlike before, the experts' analyzes have confirmed Bulgargaz's request for price increase, which was introduced on September 10th. Thus, at the forthcoming regulator meeting on 25 September, there are no disputes with the gas supplier, and for consumers this will be the biggest leap in the price of gas since April 1, 2017.

This increase will inevitably affect the prices of hot and hot water. "The Commission has much more tools to influence the price of electricity, but not natural gas, hence the heat that is determined on the basis of the price of natural gas," said Ivan Ivanov, chairman of KEVR.

Next, but not last, appreciation

For the fourth quarter of the year, for 1000 cubic meters of natural gas, the price will be 456.65 BGN, but not including the tariffs for access, transportation, excise and VAT. "The increase is due to the expected higher supply prices of imported gas, the higher exchange rate of the US dollar against the lev, as well as the accumulated effect of the approved selling price for the third quarter of 2018, which is lower than the cost of delivery, "explained the gas supplier some time ago, and now it is confirmed by the regulator.

This will be the fourth consecutive increase in the price of natural gas since the beginning of the year when 1000 cubic meters cost 342.22 leva. However, it will not be the last one since, when determining the price, the KEVR fully applies the existing methodology described in the current contract between Bulgargaz and Gazprom Export. The formula takes into account the fluctuations in the price of oil and the alternative to natural gas fuels in world markets for the past 9 months, as well as changes in the US dollar exchange rate. The regulator's powers are solely to determine whether the application of the public provider Bulgargaz complies with the requirements of Ordinance No. 2 on the pricing of natural gas and the supply contract between the two companies.

Steam - even more expensive

If on September 30, KEVR finally decided that the price would increase by more than 14%, a new update of the tariffs for heating and high-efficiency electricity, produced by a combined method by natural gas utilities, will be imposed by law. Such is for example "Toplofikacia Sofia". In July, because of the rise in gas prices by just over 10%, the price of heating in the country was raised by an average of 7.33%, so now the growth may be even higher. And ultimately, compared with the previous heating season, the tariffs will be about 15 percent higher.

We need your support so Novinite.com can keep delivering news and information about Bulgaria! Thank you!