Natural gas price goes up by nearly 16%

The price of natural gas is going up by 15.88% from April 1. This was decided at a closed meeting on April 21 by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission.

Thus, retroactively, the natural gas will now cost BGN 33.19 per megawatt-hour. The price is lower than initially requested by the state-owned company Bulgargaz - BGN 34.44.

The main reason for the new rise is the increase in the prices of natural gas and alternative fuels on world markets.

By law, Bulgargaz requests a preliminary price increase based on its own estimates. However, this procedure was not completed in April because the Ministry of Energy requested an inspection. Its purpose was to determine whether the requested increase was justified.

The inspection showed no errors in formulating the new price, but there are new data for dropping the increase from 20.25% to 15.88%. With the new rise in gas prices, the total price increase from January 1 to date is 23.24%.

The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission assures that the new higher gas price will not affect the prices of heating and hot water.