Bulgaria utilities regulator raises gas prices by 22.8% for January 2023
Bulgaria’s utilities regulator has approved a 22.8 per cent increase in the regulated gas price in the country for the month of January, setting the new price at 179.33 leva a MWh, excluding transportation costs, excise and value-added tax.
This was the second consecutive month in which the regulator approved a price hike, following two months of large cuts in October and November.
The January price was just over half the regulated price in September, 353.21 leva a MWh, prior to those large cuts.
It is also lower than the price originally envisioned by the state-owned gas company Bulgargaz, which initially requested an increase in the January price to 204.14 leva a MWh.
The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) said that the smaller increase was due to the falling gas prices on international gas hubs, but also the warmer weather, which resulted in less gas being drawn from the Chiren storage facility.
The regulated gas price in Bulgaria for January, at about 91.69 euro a MWh, was significantly lower than the prices for January deliveries on European gas hubs, which were currently at about 118 euro a MWh, the regulator said.
(Photo: Marco Caliulo/sxc.hu)
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