Bulgaria’s utilities regulator has approved a 2.9 per cent increase in the regulated gas price in the country for the month of February, setting the new price at 83.34 leva a MWh, excluding transportation costs, excise and value-added tax.
The price hike was the seventh in as many months, with the regulator saying that it was due to a higher reference price on the TTF gas hub in the Netherlands, which serves as the main European price benchmark.
Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) chairperson Ivan Ivanov said that despite an eight per cent increase in the TTF reference price, the regulator was able to keep the price hike in Bulgaria below three per cent.
That is mainly due to Bulgaria’s long-term gas contract with Azerbaijan. Additionally, state-owned gas company Bulgargaz has contracted two liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries for February and can draw natural gas from its Chiren storage, the regulator said.