SOFIA (Bulgaria), September 30 (SeeNews) – Bulgaria's energy regulator said on Wednesday it has decided to cut wholesale gas prices by 14.26% as of October 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 October 1, is 415.20 levs ($238/212 euro) per 1,000 cu m, the Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) 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 422.92 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 September 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.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)