Bulgaria’s utilities regulator has approved an eight per cent increase in the regulated gas price in the country for the month of January, setting the new price at 81.94 leva a MWh, excluding transportation costs, excise and value-added tax.
The price hike was the sixth in as many months, with the regulator saying that it was due to fluctuations of the reference price on the TTF gas hub in the Netherlands, which serves as the main European price benchmark, caused by the end of deliveries of Russian gas to several Eastern European markets via Ukraine.
Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) chairperson Ivan Ivanov said that there was no reason for concern regarding Bulgaria’s gas supply, given its long-term gas contract with Azerbaijan, and the fact that state-owned gas company Bulgargaz has contracted two liquefied natural gas (LNG) deliveries for January.
Additionally, Bulgaria can draw natural gas from its Chiren storage, which is currently at 73.7 per cent capacity, marginally higher than the 72.7 per cent EU-wide average, Ivanov said.