As of July 1, the price of natural gas approved by the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) is 49.94 BGN / MWh or an increase of 10% compared to the previous month of June (45.27 BGN/ MWh). On the other hand, the June price set a record for monthly increase. At that time the natural gas price rose by as much as 20% compared to May (37.71 BGN/ MWh). The last time the tariff was over 45 BGN / MWh was in the second quarter of 2019 – announced Capital.
The increased price of natural gas in July is a result of the continuing rise in prices on international gas markets. During a public consultation in EWRC on June 24, 2021, the Executive Director of Bulgargaz EAD Nikolay Pavlov explained that after the submission of the application on June 10, 2021, the quotations of oil and oil products and the prices on the European gas markets continue to increase as a result of increased demand for fuels. From the data presented by him, it became clear that for the last 6 months, international oil prices have risen by more than 50% and reached 75 $ / barrel. For the same period, the average price of natural gas increased by 70% – from 16 euros to over 28 euros / MWh. Nevertheless, Nikolay Pavlov emphasized that the price that Bulgargaz EAD has offered for July is 10% lower than the current prices on the European gas exchanges.
The price of the natural gas in Bulgaria is also affected by the extended deadline for the commissioning of the gas interconnection with Greece (IGB), due to which the quantities of Azeri gas delivered to Bulgaria through the IP “Kulata – Sidirokastro” are smaller compared to the capacity of the IGB interconnector. At the beginning of the year, due to the imports of Azeri gas, the price remained stable and even dropped by about 3% against an increase of 17% on the international markets in December.
