site.btaEnergy Minister: Natural Gas Prices Always Tend to Rise in Heating Season

Natural gas prices always tend to rise during the heating season, Minister of Energy Vladimir Malinov told bTV on Sunday. He commented on the price of natural gas for December, approved Sunday by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission at BGN 75.89 per megawatt-hour. 

"According to the regulatory framework, today the regulator approved an increase in the prices at which Bulgargaz will sell natural gas to its regulated customers for the month of December. This is because global markets and global trends that we follow are going up," the minister reasoned. 

"The good news is that Bulgaria is equipped with natural gas. The storage at the beginning of November was 100% filled. To date it is at 92%, which means that there are 500 million cubic metres," Malinov added. 

"The price in Bulgaria will be at least BGN 11 cheaper than all average European prices for December," Malinov also said. 

"Yes, prices can go up. We are following all the processes. As you know, in the caretaker government we took measures to compensate for the high prices of natural gas, which was stored in Chiren. If there is such a need, we will analyze the market and react adequately," Malinov said.