Bulgaria's Natgas, Heating Prices To Rise Significantly as of Apr 1
Natural gas and heating prices in Bulgaria will rise significantly from April 1, the chairman of the country's energy regulator said.
The exact size of the increase will become clear in about a week.
"Unfortunately, my expectations that prices of petroleum products will settle down proved wrong - we are witnessing record high levels, and the price of natural gas in Bulgaria is bound to the value of petroleum products on the Mediterranean markets," state-run Bulgarian News Agency (BTA) quoted the chairman of the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission, Angel Semerdzhiev, as saying on Tuesday.
The price adjustment, made on a quarterly basis, must be approved by the Bulgarian energy regulator to take effect.
Last week Bulgarian gas monopoly Bulgargaz said it will seek a 25.78% increase to 780.06 levs ($520.8/398.8 euro) per 1,000 cubic metres in the second quarter of the year.
Two days earlier Semerdzhiev projected that the hike will not exceed 10%.
On Tuesday he declined to confirm his previous projections.
A significant increase in natural gas prices will push further up the price of electricity produced by cogeneration plants, Semerdzhiev said.