„Bulgargaz” wants to increase the price of gas in August. At an open meeting, the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation discussed a report on the application submitted on 11.07.2024 by "Bulgargaz" EAD for approval of the price for the month of August 2024, at which the public supplier will sell natural gas to final suppliers and to persons who have been issued a license for the production and transmission of heat energy. In accordance with the requirements for publicity and transparency of the institutions, the report of the working group was published in advance on the website of the Commission. The executive director of "Bulgargaz" took part in the meeting. AD Veselin Sinabov.
After an analysis prepared on the basis of the presented by “Bulgargaz” EAD data and documents and after calculations, the Commission's report proposes that the price of natural gas in August will be BGN 61.44/MWh (without access, transmission, excise and VAT prices).
The proposed price includes the component “price of natural gas at the entrance of gas transmission networks”, the component for the activity “public supply” according to Art. 17, para. 7 of Ordinance No. 2 of 19.03.2013 on the regulation of natural gas prices (NRCG), as well as the component under Art. 11a, para. 2 of the NRCPG, covering the costs of "Bulgargaz" EAD for the storage of quantities in the "Chiren" gas storage facility, in fulfillment of obligations under the Emergency Action Plan.
In the application of “Bulgargaz” EAD, the prices of the individual suppliers and the quantities of natural gas are indicated. From these, the public supplier has formed the total estimated quantity for the domestic market from two different sources.
The price mix for the month of August includes part of the agreed monthly quantities of Azeri natural gas delivered via the “Bulgaria– Greece“ (IGB), under the long-term contract with Azerbaijan. The reason for the reduced quantities is the annual planned repair of the Trans Adriatic Gas Pipeline /TAP/ in the period August 5-11 of this year. As a result, natural gas volumes will be 200,000 MWh less – instead of 888,000 MWh, 688,000 MWh will be supplied. For this reason, the share of Azeri gas in the consumption for the month is lower than usual - 68.65%. The remaining 31.35% “Bulgargaz“ EAD will provide from extraction from PGH “Chiren“.
The secured quantities cover the commitments of the public supplier for the city of August - to final suppliers and heating companies, as well as the quantities under bilateral contracts with industrial customers.
At the open meeting, the head of “Bulgargaz” EAD informs that, as of today, the price originally stated by the company for the month of August of BGN 61.44/MWh is maintained, which is about 5.7% higher than the current price. The reason for the increase was the planned repair of TAR, which necessitates the need to compensate for the reduced amounts of Azeri gas with production from the gas storage in Chiren.
„If it were not for the technical support of TAR, the price of natural gas for the month of August would have remained unchanged compared to the month of July, since the estimated quantities for delivery from Azerbaijan would have been the same and the price-forming factors would not have changed. are influenced by the indices of the gas exchange TTF“, said the Chairman of KEVR Assoc. Ivan Ivanov. He clarified that the planned repair of the TAR is the only reason that leads to an increase in the price for the month of August. According to the chairman of the regulator, the high capacity of gas storages – nearly 81% in Chiren and over 83% in Europe, are factors for the stabilization of the price of gas in the coming months, which is favorable for Bulgarian domestic and commercial consumers.
In accordance with the requirements of the regulations on 01.08.2024 “Bulgargaz“ EAD will submit to KEVR up-to-date data forming the price of natural gas for the month of August. On the same day, the regulator will adopt a decision that will confirm the price at which “Bulgargaz” EAD will sell natural gas to the final suppliers and to the persons who have been issued a license for the production and transmission of thermal energy.