The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) will make a final decision on the price of natural gas for September on August 31.
The blue fuel is expected to increase in price by about 5.5%.
In its updated price proposal, the public supplier “Bulgargaz“ indicated a price of 41.60 euros per megawatt-hour, excluding access and transmission prices, excise duty and VAT. This is 0.29 euros/MWh more than the initially stated price.
The company explained that the small increase is due to recently received applications from district heating companies, which have abandoned previously stated requests to reduce consumption. Thus, the increased monthly quantities of natural gas reduce the share of Azerbaijani gas in the overall price mix, which is also reflected in the final price, BGNES reported.
Despite the expected increase, “Bulgargaz“ points out that thanks to the competitive price of Azerbaijani supplies, Bulgarian consumers will pay about 22 euros/MWh less compared to European gas exchanges. Currently, futures for September on European exchanges are trading at levels of 63-65 euros/MWh.
The price mix for September includes quantities under the long-term contract with Azerbaijan, as well as liquefied natural gas supplied under contracts with traders after an organized auction.
No natural gas production from the Chiren gas storage facility is planned for September.
The proposed price includes the component "price of natural gas at the entrance to the gas transmission networks", the component for the "public supply" activity, as well as the costs of "Bulgargaz" for storing quantities in the Chiren UGS in connection with the obligations under the Emergency Action Plan.