Bulgaria utilities regulator announces lower electricity price hikes
Bulgaria’s Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) said on July 1 that it approved an electricity price increase that was lower than initially envisioned.
On average, electricity prices would increase by 2.9 per cent, rather than 3.5 per cent put forth in the regulator’s preliminary report at end-May.
Residents of western Bulgaria, serviced by CEZ, would pay 2.9 per cent more and customers in southern Bulgaria, serviced by EVN, would pay 2.97 per cent more, with residents of northern Bulgaria, where the distributor is Energo Pro, set to pay 2.8 per cent more.
The regulator also approved an increase to heating prices that was lower than its initial forecast, due to the fact that gas prices for the third quarter were cut by 0.6 per cent.
The gas price reduction, announced by EWRC on June 28, was due to the liquefied natural gas deliveries contracted by Bulgargaz, which cost less than the natural gas purchased from Russia’s Gazprom, the regulator said.
As a result, the average heating price increase was 3.5 per cent, rather than 4.5 per cent initially envisioned by EWRC.
Residents of Bulgaria’s Black Sea city of Varna would see the lowest increase of 1.9 per cent, while customers in capital city Sofia pay 3.06 per cent more. In Plovdiv, heating bills would increase by 7.4 per cent and residents of Bourgas on the Black Sea would pay 7.36 per cent more.
