Energy regulator decided: The price of natural gas from February 1, 2021 will be BGN 30.39 / MWh

The price of natural gas from February 1, 2021 will increase to BGN 30.39 / MWh (excluding prices for access, transmission, excise and VAT), announced the press center of the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC). Bulgargaz's initial offer was for a gas price of BGN 28.92 / MWh in February.

For the previous January 2021, the price of natural gas approved by the regulator was BGN 26.93 / MWh.

The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission held a closed meeting, at which it adopted a decision in connection with the application submitted by Bulgargaz EAD for approval of a price for February 2021, at which the public supplier will sell natural gas to final suppliers and individuals, which have been issued a license for production and transmission of heat. The price decision of the Commission was adopted in accordance with the terms of the contract between Bulgargaz EAD and OOO Gazprom Export and the terms of the contract with the Azerbaijani company and its agreements, the statement said.

The decision adopted by the Commission takes into account the updated price of natural gas proposed by Bulgargaz EAD on 1 February 2021, which reflects the received reporting information on the market indices of the European gas hubs for January 2021 and for the average monthly exchange rate. exchange rate for conversion of the euro into US dollars for the same period, the average prices as of 31.01.2021 of alternatives to natural gas, fuels: fuel oil with a sulfur content of 1% and gas oil with a sulfur content of 0.1%. The updated price application of the public supplier also includes additional quantities of natural gas under the natural gas release program after the auction held on 11.01.2021, under the contracts with the licensees, as well as with customers at freely negotiated prices.

With the decision EWRC approved a price of natural gas from February 1, 2021 in the amount of BGN 30.39 / MWh (excluding prices for access, transmission, excise and VAT). For the previous month of January 2021, the price of natural gas approved by the regulator amounted to BGN 26.93 / MWh, according to the regulator.

According to Bulgargaz, the price of BGN 30.39 / MWh (excluding prices for access, transmission, excise and VAT) is equal to 15.54 EUR / MWh, calculated according to the BNB fixing. In comparison, the prices on the European gas supply markets in February 2021 are approximately 20 EUR / MWh, according to the company.

 The change in the price of natural gas will not affect the prices of heat and electricity and they remain unchanged, the EWRC said.

The increased price of natural gas for February is a result of the increased prices of natural gas on the European spot markets. For the period 1.12.2020-27.01.2021 they have increased by 45% as a result of high demand, as stated at the open meeting on 27.01.2021 by the executive director of the company Nikolay Pavlov. He pointed out that the prices for Bulgarian consumers will be 15-20 percent lower than the levels of gas hubs in Western Europe, as the public supplier will offer quantities from the gas storage in Chiren, quantities under the supply contract with Gazprom. export "and the contract for the supply of Azeri gas, added by the energy regulator.

The approved price of natural gas of BGN 30.39 / MWh includes the component price of natural gas at the entrance of the gas transmission networks, the component for the activity “public supply” under Art. 17, para. 7 of the NRCPG and the component for compensation of expenses under Art. 11a, para. 2 of the NRCPG, covering the costs of Bulgargaz EAD for storage of quantities in the underground gas storage Chiren in fulfillment of obligations under the Emergency Action Plan.

The EWRC also clarifies that it has the authority to approve the price of natural gas upon an application submitted by the public supplier. Based on the provided data and documents to the application and after checking the calculations, the Commission approves the price of natural gas for the month, which is applied from the first day of the month, according to Article 30, paragraph 1, item 7 of the Law on energy. When approving the price of natural gas, EWRC takes into account the stated estimated quantities of natural gas from imports for the domestic market, the changed terms of the contract between Bulgargaz EAD and OOO Gazprom Export, the terms of the contract with the Azerbaijani company and its agreements, as well as averages. BNB exchange rate in BGN against the foreign currency in which the natural gas imported into the country is paid. The powers of the Commission are only to establish whether the application of Bulgargaz EAD meets the requirements of Ordinance № 2 for regulation of natural gas prices and supply contracts with companies.

In determining the expected delivery prices in connection with the formation of the entrance price of gas transmission networks according to Art. 1 7, para. 3 of the NRCPG take into account the total amount of natural gas for supply in February 2021 and the relative share of the quantities for public supply of natural gas, the natural gas release program, as well as the bilateral contracts for the supply of natural gas, it is said. in the message from the press center of the energy regulator.