Bulgaria's energy regulator said on Monday it has decided to cut wholesale gas
prices by 13.17% quarter-on-quarter as of April 1, in line with a request by gas
monopoly Bulgargaz.
The maximum price which Bulgargaz can charge
end-suppliers and customers connected to the gas transmission network as of
April 1, is 523.72 levs ($291/267.8 euro) per 1,000 cu m, the State Energy and
Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) said in a notice on its website.
The
price at which the country's gas transmission system operator Bulgartransgaz can
sell natural gas to customers who are connected to its low-pressure network
cannot exceed 531.44 levs per 1,000 cu m, it added.
The figures do not
include value added tax and excise duties.
The regulator's decision was
adopted on March 30 and can be appealed within 14 days before the Supreme
Administrative Court.
Bulgaria imports almost all the natural gas it
needs from Russia through a pipeline crossing the territories of Ukraine,
Moldova and Romania.
Both Bulgargaz and Bulgartransgaz are subsidiaries
of the state-owned Bulgarian Energy Holding.
The adjustment - if any- in
the wholesale tariff is made by the energy regulator on a quarterly
basis.