Sat, Nov 21 2009

Bulgargaz to ask 18.3% gas hike from January 1 2010

Fri, Nov 13 2009 12:48 CET byNick Iliev 576 Views
Bulgargaz to ask 18.3% gas hike from January 1 2010

Photo: Николай Дойчинов

Bulgarian state-owned gas company Bulgargaz plans to ask the country's utilities regulator to increase the price of natural gas by 18.3 per cent to 442.62 leva a 1000 cu m, quoted by Dnevnik daily 2009.

The company will submit its final proposal to the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) on December 11 2009. The company will argue that the rising prices of oil and other fossil fuels on global market justify the move.

Furthermore, Russian state-owned gas giant Gazprom has already announced plans to increase prices for Europe-bound gas by 30 per cent, higher than the initial expectations for a 24.5 per cent hike.

Dnevnik quoted SEWRC as saying that it was "natural" for the gas price to rise by between 10 per cent and 15 per cent, but industry groups, already hit by the economic recession, are opposing the hike, which would further increase production costs for a number of sectors.

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