The Commission for Energy and Water Regulation confirmed the price of natural gas for the month of July in the amount of BGN 186.17/MWh

The Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (CEWR) approved the price of natural gas, starting from July 1, 2022, in the amount of BGN 186.17/MWh (without access, transmission, excise and VAT prices). At this price, "Bulgargaz" will sell natural gas to the end suppliers of natural gas and to persons who have been issued a license for the production and transmission of thermal energy. For the month of June, the gas price was BGN 141.36/MWh.

The Commission determined the price of natural gas for the month of July after analyzing the provided data and documents contained in the price application submitted on July 6, 2022 by "Bulgargaz" in a very short period of time. It was found that the public supplier formed the total estimated quantity for the domestic market based on several sources. The price mix includes the entire amount under the contract for the supply of natural gas with the company from Azerbaijan. The necessary amount of gas for the city of July is provided by "Bulgargaz" and with a signed contract for the supply of liquefied natural gas /LNG/. The public supplier has requested bids and concluded supply contracts with natural gas traders from the region. Bulgargaz's application contains the prices of individual suppliers and the size of their quantities in the total mix.

After the thorough inspection of all natural gas purchase costs, the Commission adjusted the price proposed by Bulgargaz and it was reduced from BGN 186.47 to BGN 186.17/MWh. The regulator established that the price of natural gas includes costs in the amount of BGN 747,029 for capacity and transfer of quantities to the Virtual Trade Point Bulgaria. These costs are subtracted from the total costs for the price of natural gas for the month of July 2022.

The main reason for the increase in the price for the month of July is the increased price of gas worldwide as a result of the high demand and lower supply caused by Russia's military aggression in Ukraine. In the conditions of greatly reduced or stopped supplies of natural gas from Russia and the increasing uncertainty of energy supplies, a number of European countries are also forced to conclude short-term contracts, which, in an unbalanced gas market, is a factor in the higher prices of international indices.

Regardless of the increase, the price of gas in Bulgaria remains significantly lower than the prices of the European gas exchanges. Since the beginning of July, the average value of the blue fuel indices of the largest gas hub TTF has been in the amount of 150 euros/MWh (293 BGN/MWh), and on July 7 they reached 182 euros/MWh. Even with the new price, Bulgarian household consumers, industrial customers, as well as heating utilities will pay almost twice less compared to current prices on international markets. All necessary quantities of natural gas for the month of July are provided for these users.

The Commission confirms the already expressed opinion that it is extremely important that in the coming months "Bulgargaz" does the maximum to secure long-term contracts for alternative supplies. EWRC's recommendation is to conclude contracts with at least three alternative suppliers with different methods of gas price formation. This will make it possible to achieve security of supply and stability of prices for Bulgarian household and commercial consumers.

Earlier today, the regulator held an open meeting on the price of natural gas for the month of July, in which the applicant "Bulgargaz" participated.

CEWR's decision to approve the price of natural gas, starting from 01.07.2022, has been published on the website of the regulator.