Bulgarian utilities regulator OKs 31% cut in gas price for Feb

SOFIA (Bulgaria), February 2 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's utilities regulator said it approved a wholesale natural gas price of 124.34 levs ($69.90 /63.57 euro) per MWh, to be valid for February, which represents a decrease of 31% compared to January.

The reduction is possible because of the fall in international gas prices as a result of mild winter weather and large volumes available at European gas storage sites, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) said in a statement on Wednesday.

The approved price for February practically equals the price of 124.35 levs per MWh proposed by Bulgargaz.

Lower market quotations allowed public supplier Bulgargaz to pump natural gas into Bulgaria's Chiren underground storage site at significantly lower prices, thus reducing the overall price of the gas mix for February, the regulator explained. The other components of the mix are gas from Azerbaijan delivered via the Greece-Bulgaria interconnector, which covers around a third of the country's consumption, and liquefied natural gas delivered by traders from the region.

(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)