September 30 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's energy regulator on Wednesday approved an increase in gas prices by 2.49% to 374.13 levs ($279.58/191.27 euro) per 1,000 cubic metres, Value-Added Tax (VAT) excluded, in the fourth quarter of 2009.
Earlier in September, state-run gas monopoly Bulgargaz proposed the hike, which it said reflected the higher price of alternative fuels on international markets in recent months.
The change in the price of natural gas would not lead to a change in the prices of heating energy generated from gas, the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC) said in a statement.
Gas prices in Bulgaria are adjusted on a quarterly basis. Bulgargaz said earlier in September it believes gas prices for the first quarter of 2010 should be increased by 25% to 470 levs, VAT excluded, but SEWRC head Angel Semerdzhiev prices will be lifted by no more than 15%.
Bulgaria, which imports from Russia more than 85% of the gas it needs, replaced in 2006 its deal with Russia's Gazprom for the supply and transit of natural gas through 2010 with a new contract that the government in Sofia said envisaged a gradual rise in delivery prices until 2013 and an increase in transit volumes until 2030.
(1 euro = 1.95583 Bulgarian levs)
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