Gas to cost more from November – but less than the 34% Bulgargaz sought
Bulgargaz will lower its price request by the end of the month, with the regulator deciding on Nov. 2. Electricity and district heating are not set to rise on Jan. 1.
Archive image · Photo: Gmiliev at Bulgarian Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons, Public domain (cropped and resized)
Natural gas in Bulgaria will become more expensive from Nov. 1, but by less than initially planned. The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (KEVR) announced this after a meeting on Wednesday, BNT reported. State supplier Bulgargaz had applied for a 34% increase and will revise its request by the end of October. The final decision is due on Nov. 2. According to KEVR data, the gas price has already risen 41% over the past year.
Bulgargaz executive director Georgi Tatarski stressed that the company's price remains more than 40 euros per megawatt-hour below exchange prices. To avoid a very steep rise, Bulgargaz is drawing on gas from the Chiren storage facility, which was filled when prices were lower. International gas prices, however, keep climbing. KEVR chairman Plamen Mladenovski said the regulator would use every tool available so that electricity and heating prices need not rise on Jan. 1.
Households heating with gas and businesses will be hit hardest. A pizzeria owner in Varna told BNT that a rise of around 10% would be bearable, but anything above that would be "absolutely unacceptable." The head of the regional bakers' union in Burgas expects an increase above 30% to add about 1% to the cost of bread – but said rising prices for flour and raw materials worry him more.