site.btaBulgargaz Proposes Natural Gas Price of BGN 186.47/MWh for July

Bulgargaz proposed a natural gas price of BGN 186.47/MWh for July excluding access, transmission, excise and VAT fees, the executive director of Bulgargaz EAD, Ludmil Yotsov, said in Parliament Wednesday.

This is a % price increase, he pointed out to the members of the Parliamentary Ad-hoc Committee for the examination of the circumstances leading to the suspension of natural gas from Gazprom Export OOO and the conducted procedure for selection of alternative suppliers by Bulgargaz EAD.

Natural gas for July has been secured, it has also largely been secured for August as well.

Earlier on Wednesday, employers' and trade unions' organizations demanded a special meeting of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation (NCTC) to discuss the natural gas price.

In an open letter to the Deputy Prime Minister and NCTC Chair, the social partners point out that, according to the supply contracts concluded between Bulgargaz EAD and the industrial consumers directly connected to the gas transmission network of the country, the supply price is formed monthly based on the price requested for approval. At present, there is no information about an application submitted to the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) by the public supplier Bulgargaz for the approval of the natural gas price for July 2022.

The lack of an application once again leaves Bulgarian industry without a price for natural gas.

In a letter of July 5 to the Minister of Energy and the EWRC, the Association of the Organizations of Bulgarian Employers (AOBE) requested urgent information on the natural gas price for July 2022, but so far, the uncertainty continues.

"Once again, for several months, Bulgarian industries will work in a situation of unpredictability, the letter says. This puts at risk the security of the market in the country, generates additional inflation and, ultimately, affects the income and living standards of the population. In this regard, we call for an urgent convening of the National Council for Tripartite Cooperation to discuss natural gas prices and measures to secure supplies for the winter," the letter reads.

The letter was signed by Dobri Mitrev, Chairman of the Board of the Bulgarian Industrial Association (BIA) and Chairman of AOBE for 2022, on behalf of the Bulgarian Industrial Capital Association, BIA, the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Confederation of Employers and Industrialists in Bulgaria, by Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria President Plamen Dimitrov, and by Labour Confederation of Labour President Dimitar Manolov.