CEWR: After the New Year, natural gas will become more expensive than planned

Natural gas will rise in price less than expected after the New Year. This became clear after the open meeting of the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (CEWR). At the moment, the price of natural gas for January will be significantly lower than the one requested by "Bulgargas" earlier this month of BGN 204.53 per 1,000 cubic meters before taxes and fees, said the executive director of "Bulgargas" Denitsa Zlateva. She explained that the company will submit a proposal for a final price at least BGN 18 lower - or in other words, with a price of BGN 186.53 per 1,000 cubic meters. The company has also managed to pump natural gas virtually into the "Chiren" storage facility, Zlateva further explained.

From the CEWR meeting, it became clear that the prices of heat energy and household electricity will not change from the New Year and will remain in force at least until the end of March. The main reasons are the mild winter and the sharp decrease in the price of natural gas on the Dutch Gas Exchange, explained EWRC chairman Ivan Ivanov.

According to him, all quantities of natural gas from six suppliers are guaranteed for 2023. We have diversified not only the suppliers, but also the routes of natural gas to make sure that there will be no interruption of supplies, Zlateva explained to the journalists.

Currently, there is no use of natural gas from Chiren and the storage has 20 percent more gas than other years, Ivan Ivanov said. He pointed out that Bulgargas's contract with Gazpromexport expires tomorrow, and it can be seen that Bulgaria can manage without supplies from Russia. According to him, the gas storages in Europe are full, and if warm weather persists on the continent for a few more days, we may have gas for three months, even if the supply of blue fuel is stopped.

The CEWR will take the final decision on the price of natural gas at its meeting on January 1.