September 9 (SeeNews) - Public natural gas supplier Bulgargaz said on Friday it proposed to Bulgaria's energy regulator to approve a wholesale natural gas price of 247.96 levs ($127.31/126.77 euro) per MWh for October.
Bulgargaz will lodge a definitive price request with the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) on October 1, taking into account the value of price-forming components at that point in time, the company said in a statement.
Earlier this month, EWRC approved an 18.7% month-on-month hike gas price for September, to 353.63 levs per MWh.
The 220 million euro ($223.1 million) Greece-Bulgaria gas interconnection, with an annual capacity of 3 billion cubic metres (bcm), is scheduled to be commissioned on October 1, facilitating the delivery of larger quantities of natural gas under a contract with Azerbaijan.
The proposed price for October answers the call of employers and trade unions for a cap on gas price of up to 250 levs per MWh, the energy ministry said in a separate statement.
The price of gas for October delivery on the Dutch TTF gas futures platform was 206.75 euro per MWh earlier on Friday. European natural gas prices have been dropping after EU president Ursula von der Leyen announced on Wednesday a proposal for a price cap on imports of Russian natural gas.
Bulgarian energy regulations require Bulgargaz to set the gas price monthly. The EWRC has the final say on the proposed changes in the wholesale price, at which the state-owned company sells natural gas to end-suppliers and customers directly connected to its transmission network.
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)
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