Bulgarian MPs pass bill requiring Bulgargaz to rebate gas bills
Bulgaria’s Parliament passed amendments to the country’s Energy Act at second reading on April 14 that will require state-owned gas company Bulgargaz to rebate part of the gas bills paid by consumers since August 2019.
The bill was tabled to reflect the 40 per cent gas price cut agreed by Bulgargaz with its main gas supplier, Russia’s Gazprom Export, which it signed last month but is backdated to August 2019.
The exact size of the rebate will depend on the ruling of the energy regulator, which will have to retroactively set new gas prices each of the past eight months.
Bulgargaz has already tabled its proposals with the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, Bulgarian National Radio reported, but the regulator is not bound by the company’s requests and can order larger or smaller price cuts than those requested by the gas provider.
After the regulator issues its rulings, Bulgargaz will have 20 days to calculate the rebate amounts. Heating utilities will then pass on the rebate to their consumers.
According to one media report, Bulgargaz expects to rebate about 198 million leva (about 101 million euro) if the energy regulator approves the company’s price cut proposals.
(Photo: Marco Caliulo/sxc.hu)
