EWRC: Natural gas price increases by 3% in February

The Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) approved the price of natural gas for February at 84.34 leva/MWh, excluding access, transmission, excise and VAT prices, the regulator announced.

At this price, Bulgargaz will sell natural gas to end suppliers and to persons who have been issued a license for the production and transmission of heat energy. The price for January was 81.94 leva per megawatt-hour, which means that the increase for the month is 3%.

The EWRC indicates that they made this decision after analyzing the current data submitted by Bulgargaz today (February 1), forming the price of the blue fuel for the current month.

The price mix includes the entire agreed quantity of Azerbaijani natural gas supplied via the Bulgaria - Greece (IGB) interconnector, according to the long-term contract with Azerbaijan. The EWRC notes that these quantities are important for achieving a favorable price for the blue fuel.

Bulgargaz has concluded two contracts for the supply of liquefied natural gas with traders. This happened after an organized auction with requirements for a minimum delivery price and a proposed payment method. The price mix for the month also includes quantities from the Chiren underground gas storage facility.

The announcement also states that the operator of the Alexandroupolis terminal has notified Bulgargaz of a partial, and subsequently, as of January 28, a complete limitation of the regasification capacity and natural gas supply from the terminal due to technical problems. Immediate action was taken and the planned delivery was redirected to a terminal in Turkey within the framework of the agreement with Botas.

Against the backdrop of reduced requests for natural gas delivery in February, the role of natural gas supplied by Azerbaijan, which has the best price component in the mix, is increasing, KEWR points out.

The TTF pricing index for February is about 8 percent higher than in January and despite these unfavorable circumstances, the increase in the regulated price for February does not exceed 3 percent compared to the January price, EWRC notes.

The approved price of natural gas includes the price component of the blue fuel at the entrance to the gas transmission networks, the component for the activity "public supply" under the Regulation on the Regulation on the Regulation on the Prices of Natural Gas, as well as the component for compensation of costs under the same regulation, covering the costs of "Bulgargaz" for storing quantities in the gas storage facility in "Chiren". This is in fulfillment of obligations under the Emergency Action Plan.

The provided quantities cover the commitments of the public supplier for February to the final suppliers and district heating companies, as well as the quantities under bilateral contracts with industrial customers, the regulator also states.