May 5 (SeeNews) - Bulgaria's Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) said that it has approved an increase in the wholesale price of natural gas for the month of May, to 37.71 levs ($23.13/19.28 euro) per MWh.
The price applicable in April was 33.19 levs per MWh.
In its decision, the regulator took into account information about the market indices of the European gas hubs and the average euro/dollar exchange rate of the European Central Bank, it said in a statement last week.
The price approved for the month of May is in line with the proposal of state-owned gas supplier Bulgargaz.
Bulgarian energy regulations were changed last year, requiring Bulgargaz to set the gas price monthly instead of quarterly. The EWRC has the final say on the changes in the wholesale price sought by the state-owned company which sells natural gas to end-suppliers and customers directly connected to its transmission network.
In March 2020, Bulgargaz negotiated a 40.3% cut in the price of Russian natural gas imports based on an agreement between the European Commission and Russia's Gazprom.
Earlier this year, Bulgaria started receiving natural gas from Azerbaijan via the Trans Adriatic Pipeline (TAP).
(1 euro = 1.95583 levs)