Bulgarian gas supplier Bulgargaz said that it expects that the wholesale price of natural gas for the delivery in May will increase by 38.6 % to 80.4 euros/MWh.
Earlier this month, the Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (KEVR) approved a 3.5 % increase of wholesale natural gas price for March, the same as last week’s revised proposal of Bulgargaz, with the gas price amounting to 63.5 euros/MWh. The price for February stood at 56.2 euros/MWh, which was an decrease of 17.6 % compared to January.
In mid-February, Bulgargaz said that that it expects that the wholesale price of natural gas for the delivery in April will increase by 3 %. However, this decrease now seems unlikely, due to skyrocketing gas prices following the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
In March 2020, Bulgargaz and Gazprom Export have finalized an agreement on 40.3 % reduction of the price at which Russia supplies natural gas to Bulgaria, backdated to 5 August 2019. Bulgaria was the last of eight EU member states of Eastern Europe to strike a deal on a price cut with Gazprom, in the wake of a settlement reached between the European Commission and the Russian monopolist on an anti-trust investigation.
The agreement with Gazprom prompted the change in determining regulated wholesale gas prices, which is now set on monthly, rather than quarterly basis.
