site.btaUPDATED Ombudsman Calls for Urgent Compensation for Households Due to Increased NatGas Prices

Ombudsman Diana Kovacheva sent a recommendation to caretaker Prime Minister Galab Donev and caretaker Energy Minister Rossen Hristov, in which she asked for fair compensation for the extremely increased prices of natural gas for all households that rely on the energy source, the Kovacheva's press office said Wednesday. 

Kovacheva is alarmed after the application submitted by Bulgargaz for the approval of the price of natural gas for January 2023 in the amount of BGN 204.53 per MWh, which is an unprecedentedly high increase of 38.9% compared to the December price, happening during the heating season, the Ombudsman's statement said. It reiterates that the Government's Compensation Programme for Household Consumers was implemented until May 2022. At the same time, the price increase of natural gas continued in the months after the Programme ended.

She notes with concern that, despite her recommendation in July to the government to adopt a new compensation programme, to date no steps are known to have been taken to address this pressing issue.

The excessively high natural gas prices also considerably increase the costs of district heating companies that use this type of energy source, and if they do not receive state aid to cover the differences, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) will have to include these unprecedentedly high costs in heat prices for end-consumers from July 1, 2023, the ombudsman said.

Kovacheva is adamant that this financial burden should not be passed on to the backs of domestic heat consumers. The prices and bills for heat are already on the edge of social tolerance, the public defender adds.