site.btaRegulator Approves 8.4% Lower Natgas Price for February M/M

The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) approved the price of natural gas for February at BGN 71.08 per megawatt-hour (MWh), exclusive of access, transmission, excise duty and VAT costs. This is the price at which state-owned distributor Bulgargaz will sell natural gas to end-suppliers of gas and to heating companies, the regulator said in a press release on Thursday.

The price for February is 8.4% lower than the approved price of natural gas in January, which was BGN 77.60 MWh.

The EWRC found that the total estimated quantity for the domestic market was provided by three different sources of supply, the regulator said. The price mix for February includes the entire contracted quantity of Azeri natural gas supplied via the Bulgaria-Greece interconnector /IGB/, according to the long-term contract in force with Azerbaijan. These volumes cover 42.03% of the consumption for the month and are decisive for achieving favourable prices. Bulgargaz has concluded a contract for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG) for February with a trader from the region, following a tender procedure, with minimum delivery price requirements and a proposed payment method. In the price mix, the public supplier has also included natural gas volumes from production from the Chiren underground gas storage facility.

The secured quantities cover the public supplier's commitments for February - to the final suppliers and the district heating companies, and the quantities under bilateral contracts with industrial customers, the EWRC noted.

"The reduction in the price of natural gas creates price benefits for all Bulgarian consumers - direct users of natural gas, customers of thermal energy provided by thermal power plants fueled by natural gas, as well as for businesses," said EWRC Chairman Ivan Ivanov at the open meeting of EWRC on January 30. According to him, the sustained low prices of energy resources, including gas, are a strong anti-inflationary factor in support of Bulgaria's efforts to achieve the criteria for eurozone membership.