site.btaQ2 Drop in Natural Gas Price May Not Lower Central Heating Price

Q2 Drop in Natural Gas Price May Not Lower Central Heating Price

Sofia, February 18 (BTA) - Although natural gas provider
Bulgargaz last week issued a forecast for a drop in the price of
natural gas by slightly over 13 per cent, this may not lead to
lower bills for central heating customers, Svetla Todorova, head
of the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC),
told journalists on Wednesday.

Todorova said: "Don't expect the end prices of heat energy and
electricity to change when the gas price falls." The prices at
which the district heating companies buy gas may fall but the
saving will benefit Bulgargaz or those companies, she added.
Most of the savings should go to the district heating companies
because they incurred losses when the price of their services
did not go up on earlier occasions when natural gas went up.

Todorova said that the while the price of natural gas may go
down from April 1, the price of heat energy may remain
unchanged. Dimiter Dimitrov, member of the state regulator, said
Bulgargaz might also benefit from this because the district
heating companies would save money to pay part of their debt to
the gas provider.

Todorova said she was expressing her own preliminary views. The
district heating companies have until the end of March to
present their financial reports which will show the accumulated
losses.