site.btaBulgargaz Expects 5-6% Lower Natural Gas Price in May

Bulgargaz expects the price of natural gas next month to be 5 to 6% lower compared to the current price of BGN 58.84 per MWh (excluding access, transmission, excise and VAT), said the head of the company's pricing department Lyudmila Vitanova on Monday. She was speaking at a sitting of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) reviewing the public gas supplier's price proposal for May.

EWRC Chairman Ivan Ivanov pointed out that the commercial operation of the Alexandroupolis liquefied natural gas terminal would be delayed by 20 days. For this reason, deliveries through the terminal, which are part of the quantities requested by Bulgargaz for May, will not be able to be met. Ivanov therefore asked what steps the company is expected to take in this situation.

Vitanova replied that they had been informed by the terminal operator, Gaztrade, that the expected date for the commercial operation of the terminal would be postponed. Because of this, Bulgargaz has announced an auction on the Balkan Gas Hub platform to find the volumes that are not sufficient for the customers' requests. The auction will take place on April 30 but whatever happens there, Bulgargaz expects the price for May to be between BGN 55 and 56, she underscored.

The EWRC will adopt a decision on the gas price for next month at a closed-door sitting on May 1.