site.btaNew Natural Gas Price Down 2.32 % Q/Q - Energy Regulator Chairman

New Natural Gas Price Down 2.32 % Q/Q - Energy Regulator  Chairman

Sofia, December 30 (BTA) - The new price of natural gas, effective January 1, 2016, is 2.32 per cent lower from the previous quarter and the price declined by 31.16 per cent for the full year 2015, Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) Chairman Ivan Ivanov said here on Wednesday. He was speaking at a news briefing after the Commission met behind closed doors to determine the price at which the public supplier, Bulgargaz, sells natural gas.
   
Ivanov specified that the new price is 0.4359 leva/MWh. The 2.32 per cent cut is good news for the Bulgarian industry which widely uses natural gas. In his words, it will also have a favourable effect on household users whose homes are supplied with gas. Finally, this is also good news for the district heating companies, which will be able to pay their outstanding debts to Bulgargaz.
   
At the same time, the 2.32 per cent reduction of the natural gas price is not sufficient to give the EWRC grounds to adjust the price of electricity produced by high efficiency co-generation or the price of heat, Ivanov explained.
   
Compared to the 2014-2015 heating season, the price of heat for households in  2015-2016 is 0.15 to 0.20 leva lower on the average. For some district heating companies, the price is nearly 0.20 leva lower, and in the case of Sofia it is slightly less than 15 per cent lower. As a result of the drop in natural gas prices and the higher temperatures in October, November and December, as well as the forecast for a warm winter, heating customers' bills will be 25 to 30 per cent lower for the entire heating season for identical consumption.
   
Ivanov noted that for the first time since the Commission has been setting the price of natural gas, this price has dropped by 31.7 per cent or nearly a third within a year, which makes it possible to improve the competitiveness of Bulgarian industry.
   
End users utilize almost 90 per cent of the primary energy produced by natural gas, Ivanov added.