Bulgaria: Exchange power just under 246 euros as households use more electricity
Power on Bulgaria's energy exchange costs an average of 245.91 euros per megawatt hour for Friday. Supplier Electrohold bought nearly 20% more electricity for households in October.
Symbolic image · Photo: Dimitǎr Boevski / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (cropped and resized)
Electricity remains expensive in Bulgaria. On the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange (IBEX), power for delivery on Oct. 23 traded at an average of 245.91 euros per megawatt hour excluding VAT, the state news agency BTA reported. That is about 1.7% less than the previous day's 250.17 euros. Notably, the average in peak hours from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. was lower, at 237.16 euros, than in the remaining hours, at about 254.66 euros. A total of 93,794.4 megawatt hours were sold.
At the same time, consumption is rising with cooler weather. Electrohold Prodazhbi, which supplies end customers in western Bulgaria, said it purchased 19.84% more electricity for household customers in the first half of October than in the first half of September. The company attributed the increase to lower temperatures, when households traditionally use more power for heating and hot water.
Electrohold advised customers to check the kilowatt hours consumed on their bills rather than only the total amount. Each bill shows consumption for the current month and the previous 13 months. A comparison with the same period of the previous year is more meaningful than one with the previous month, as weather and household circumstances can change, the company said.