Natural gas prices in the regulated market will rise 3.3% from this Friday, which represents average increases in domestic customer bills of between 33 and 70 cents, as announced by the Energy Services Regulatory Authority (ERSE).
As of Friday, the natural gas bill of a couple without children with an annual consumption of 138 m3 (cubic meters), in the regulated market, it increases by 33 cents, and for a couple with two children (annual consumption of 292 m3) the average increase is around 70 cents.
ERSE also announced that on October 1 there will be an increase of 8.2% for the year 2022-2023, compared to the previous year (2021-2022), noting that “taking into account the energy rate updates throughout 2022, consumers in the regulated market will observe in October 2022 an average increase of 3.9% compared to the previous month”.
These updates refer to sales rates for the domestic segment (consumption less than or equal to 10,000 m3/year) that are still in the regulated market.
Thus, in October, in the case of a couple without children with an annual consumption of 138 m3, there will be an increase of 48 cents and, in the case of a couple with two children (annual consumption of 292 m3) the average increase will be 87 cents, compared to September, according to the ERSE.
“It is important to mention that the The regulator’s decision comes in a context of strong uncertaintymarked by the shortage of supply in the face of the demand for raw materials and energy due to the situation of the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine,” the regulator stressed, in the statement sent at the beginning of June, explaining that “this situation has exacerbated the rise in energy prices in wholesale markets, raising fears of a scenario of lower economic growth and higher inflation, which will significantly affect consumption and the price of gas”.
According to ERSE, even so, “the fact that the supply of energy to the regulated market is assured through long-term contracts, under a ‘take or pay’ regime with Nigeria, mitigates the impact on the sale price to customers ends of the regulated market.
According to the regulator, “the update of the energy rate by two additional euros/MWh, with effect from July 1, 2022, results from monitoring the average cost of energy in the regulated market, in the terms provided in the regulations ”, being that “this decision only affects end customers who are still supplied in a regulated market”.
ERSE indicated that “the approximately 227,000 consumers that remain as providers of last resort are subject to these variations, representing around 2% of national consumption.”
In turn, “the Consumers with a social rate will benefit from a 31.2% discount on transitory sales tariffs to end customers”.
The regulator also explained that “before the start of the new gas year 2022-2023, from October 1, 2022 to September 30, 2023, and in the terms of its Statutes, the ERSE presented the proposal for rates and prices of natural gas per gas year 2022-2023 to the opinion of the Tariff Board and consultation of other entities. Subsequently, and taking into account the opinion issued, the ERSE makes its final decision and approves the regulated rates and prices, valid between October 1, 2022 and September 30, 2023.
Source: Observadora
