Bulgarian energy regulator KEVR didn’t accept the argumentation of private gas distribution company Overgas Mrezhi to increase prices for its customers for the period 2023-2024.
The Director of the Natural Gas Directorate Milen Dimitrov explained that the regulation states that price changes are possible, but it is regulated that an application must be submitted three months before the expiry of the price period.
Overgas Mrezhi submitted this application in March, while it should have done so in September 2022.
Overgas Mrezhi representatives disagreed with KEVR’s opinion and said that they had asked for the price increase in order to be able to continue providing high quality services to their customers and ensure the security of supply. They said the company’s prices were around the market average.
Overgas Mrezhi is the largest private gas distribution company in Bulgaria. The company operates gas distribution networks and supplies natural gas to end users in 51 municipalities across the country. The Overgas Mrezhi network is more than 2,400 kilometers long and reaches nearly 250,000 Bulgarian households.
In 2021, US company Linden Energy acquired a 50% stake in Overgas from Russian Gazprom.
