Bulgargaz Has No Reason to Seek 2% Price Hike, Regulator Says

The intention of Bulgargaz to seek a 2% increase in the price of natural gas is “groundless”, a member of Bulgaria’s energy regulator said on Wednesday.

“If you want me to say it explicitly – no, they have no grounds for an increase of that scale,” Dimitar Dimitrov said.

Bulgargaz said on Tuesday it would ask the energy watchdog, DKEVR, to allow it increase the price of natural gas by 2.07% from the beginning of next year, citing strong dollar and uncollected revenue.

According to Dimitrov, while it is logical to seek a certain increase of gas price due to a rise in the dollar, the portion of the planned increase attributed to overdue debt owed to Bulgargaz by consumers seems inflated.

The method used by Bulgargaz to calculate overdue debt doesn’t fully correspond to the regulator’s definition of revenue not received in full, Dimitrov explained, adding that DKEVR is going to consider potential changes in the price formation mechanism to prevent distortion of Bulgaria's gas market.

According to dnevnik.bg, Bulgargaz will submit a proposal for a gas price increase to DKEVR on 11 December.

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