Bulgaria braced for 13% gas price hike

Bulgaria's natural gas price is to go up by 12.73% as of April 1, 2012, the State Commission for Energy and Water Regulation (DKEVR) has stated in a report that is yet to be adopted.

According to Angel Semerdzhiev, head of DKEVR, Bulgaria's state-owned natural gas monopoly Bulgargaz risks going bankrupt if the hike is any lower than that.

The natural gas price increase will lead to a hike of heating prices of between 4% and 13% across Bulgaria; in Sofia, the heating prices will go up by 9%.

The approved hike of 13% is still substantially lower than Bulgargaz's demand - the Bulgarian state company had asked for a natural gas price increase of over 25% as of April 1.

"We believe that Bulgargaz will manage to fulfill its commitments as a public provider, and will provide the needed quantities of natural gas for all consumers in Bulgaria under the best possible conditions," Semerdzhiev said.

"If the increase is smaller than 12.73%, Bulgargaz will end up with a loss per every 1000 cubic meters that it imports because it will have to sell cheaper than it buys," he added.

Source: Novinite