Natural gas prices in Bulgaria will decrease by 3 to 15%, the country's energy watchod DKEVR announced Friday.

Boyan Boev, head of the State Commisison for Energy and Water Regulation (what DKEVR stands for), said he hoped the move would push more Bulgarians to use gas, the website Expert.bg reports.

Only 3 to 3.5% of Bulgarians currently rely on natural gas for their everyday household needs.

Officials from the Bulgarian Association for Natural Gas have pointed out that a unilateral change of terms under which gas is being supplied and distributed wil severely affect the market.

Representatives of the energy business have expressed skepticism at the decision by DKEVR, explaining that lowering customer prices of gas would not solve pending issues within the sector.

They have said that gas price has been significantly overwritten over the past years due to a special 18% Added Tax Duty added by Russia upon exporting goods. This means large-scale overpricing of natural gas has also pushed electricity bills up.