At an open session, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission discussed a report on the application submitted on 13.01.2025 by "Bulgargaz" EAD for approval of a price for February at which the public supplier can sell natural gas to end suppliers and to those who have been issued a license for the production and transmission of heat energy, announced the EWRC.
After an analysis prepared on the basis of the data and documents submitted by "Bulgargaz" EAD and after calculations, the Commission's report proposes that the price of natural gas in February be 84.03 BGN/MWh (excluding access, transmission, excise and VAT prices).
In the application of "Bulgargaz" The prices of individual suppliers and the quantities of natural gas are indicated. From these, the public supplier has formed the total estimated quantity for the domestic market.
The price mix for February includes the entire agreed quantity of Azerbaijani natural gas supplied via the "Bulgaria - Greece" (IGB) interconnector, in accordance with the long-term contract with Azerbaijan. These quantities are important for achieving a favorable price for the blue fuel.
"Bulgargaz" has concluded contracts for the supply of liquefied natural gas with three traders for February, after an organized auction with requirements for a minimum delivery price and a proposed payment method. The price mix for the month also includes quantities of production from the Chiren storage facility, the KEWR announcement also states.
It is added that on February 1, "Bulgargaz" EAD will submit to KEWR current data forming the price of natural gas for the month. On the same day, the regulator will adopt a decision approving the price at which "Bulgargaz" EAD will sell natural gas.
And more: At the open meeting today, the head of "Bulgargaz" Vesselin Sinabov stated that the operator of the floating terminal in Alexandroupolis has notified them of a partial, and subsequently, as of 28.01.2025, a complete limitation of the regasification capacity, respectively of the supply of natural gas from the terminal due to technical reasons that have arisen:
"Currently, the specified deadline for the limitation is 31.01.2025, and as a result of this interruption, the terminal operator is not able to accept the planned supplies of liquefied natural gas for "Bulgargaz" for February. In this regard, immediate action has been taken and the planned delivery has been redirected for unloading to a terminal in Turkey within the framework of the agreement concluded with "Botas".
The TTF pricing index as of February is about 10% higher than in January and despite these two unfavorable circumstances, the increase in the regulated price for February will not exceed 3% compared to the price for January, thus for the fifth consecutive month, "Bulgargaz" consumers will have a price approximately 10 leva lower than the TTF pricing index," Sinabov indicated.
"The only negative factor is precisely the increase in the TTF index, which yesterday at the end of the session reached nearly 51.5 euros/MWh - something that has not happened for more than a year, and the second factor is related to the technical problems at the terminal in Alexandroupolis. In the first days when the problem with the terminal appeared, quantities for delivery to customers in Bulgaria were withdrawn from the "Botaş" network, and as for February - the tanker scheduled for unloading at the terminal in Alexandroupolis has been redirected to a terminal in Turkey.
I believe that this decision is sustainable, although it probably increases the costs of "Bulgargaz" in financial terms. There is one factor that acts in the opposite direction, and that is the reduced requests for natural gas delivery in February. With this reduction, the role of natural gas supplied by Azerbaijan, which obviously has the best price component in the mix, increases," said the chairman of the EWRC Ivan Ivanov.
For the current month of January, the price of gas is 81.94 leva, for December last year it was - 75.89 leva, for November - 68.69 leva, and for October - 63.72 leva.