Head of the Energy Watchdog: Proposed Electricity and Heating Prices from 1 July Are Realistic

The prices proposed by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) at present are realistic, said the regulator’s Chair Plamen Mladenovski following public hearings held earlier today on the new tariffs due to enter into force on 1 July.

The regulator is proposing an average increase of 3% in household electricity prices from 1 July, and an average increase of 4.58% in district heating prices.

The Ombudsman is calling on the EWRC to reconsider the new heating prices.

Mladenovski added that the geopolitical situation and the volatility of oil and natural gas prices must also be taken into account.

The regulator is proposing to increase the price of electricity for households by an average of 3 per cent from July 1 and the price of heat by an average of 4.58 per cent.

“At present, what is saving the country is the Azerbaijani contract. In the near future, that price will also need to be adjusted, as it is linked to the price of oil, and if things in the Persian Gulf do not stabilise, we may see higher natural gas prices. We have taken this factor into account conservatively, but still we cannot increase district heating prices to a level that makes them unaffordable for people, so part of the cost will be borne by the companies if that happens.”

He added that he hopes there will be no change in prices as of 1 January next year. According to him, as every year, the EWRC has applied a restrictive approach to the companies’ requested cost increases and believes a good balance has been achieved.

“Prices must, above all, be fair, economically justified and affordable for citizens, because someone has to pay them, and we cannot fully comply with the companies’ demands,” Mladenovski noted.

Regarding the increase in electricity prices, he said the proposed change is below the level of inflation. Even so, a 3% increase in the average electricity bill amounts to less than one euro, he added.

Source: BTA