СEWR decided: 21% cheaper natural gas from today

The Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (CEWR) approved the price of natural gas for the city of May in the amount of BGN 77.55/MWh, excluding access, transmission, excise and VAT prices. The price is 21% lower than in April, the energy regulator announced. Thus, at this price, Bulgargaz EAD will sell natural gas to final suppliers and to persons who have been issued a license for the production and transmission of thermal energy. This was announced by the energy regulator today.

The approved price of natural gas includes the component price of natural gas at the entrance to the gas transmission networks, the component for the activity "public supply" under Art. 17, para. 7 of the NRCPG and the component for compensating costs under Art. 11a, para. 2 of the NRCPG, covering the costs of "Bulgargaz" EAD for storage of quantities in the gas storage facility in "Chiren", in fulfillment of obligations under the Emergency Action Plan.

The commission approved the price after an analysis of the current data and documents submitted today by Bulgargaz EAD, which indicate the prices of the individual suppliers and the size of their quantities in the total mix. The regulator found that the total estimated quantity for the domestic market was provided by several different supply sources.

The price mix for the month of May includes the entire agreed amount of Azeri natural gas delivered via the "Bulgaria-Greece" interconnector /IGB/ at prices according to the current long-term contract with Azerbaijan. These amounts cover 62.65% of the country's consumption for the month and are of key importance in achieving favorable prices for the blue fuel.

After organizing a tender procedure, "Bulgargaz" concluded two contracts for the city of May with traders from the region for the supply of liquefied natural gas (LNG). Contracts are concluded based on the minimum delivery price and proposed payment method.

The secured quantities of natural gas for the city of May cover the commitments of the public supplier to final suppliers and heating companies, as well as the quantities under bilateral contracts with industrial customers.

The approved price of BGN 77.55/MWh is 21% lower than the price for April, which was BGN 98.16/MWh. The main factor for this is the sustained downward trend of the stock indices of the international gas markets and the lower consumption.

"Thanks to the efforts of Bulgargaz, Bulgarian consumers will use natural gas in May at a very favorable, significantly lower price. The reduction will have a direct impact on all users of blue fuel and especially on heating companies, where 70 percent of the price is formed by natural gas", said the chairman of EWRC Assoc. Ivan Ivanov at the meeting held on 25.04. open meeting. In this way, favorable prices for heat energy are ensured, which is good news for domestic consumers.

CEWR's decision to approve the price of natural gas for May 2023 will be published on the regulator's website.