FOR HOUSEHOLD CONSUMERS The price of natural gas will not be raised

• Industrial consumers will see their gas costs increase by 10%

On Friday, the representatives of the National Authority for the Regulation of the Energy Market (ANRE) decided that the price of gas for household consumers will not be raised on July 1st. Also, producers of thermal energy will still benefit from the same tariff for the amount of natural gas used for producing thermal energy, in co-generation plants and in thermal plants, used for household consumption.

On the other hand, industrial consumers (non-household), with the exception of the ones previously mentioned, will pay 10% more on their gas bills, starting next month, according to the decision that the ANRE adopted at the end of last week.

The reasons for the change of the price for non-household consumers are the raise of the price of imported natural gas from 290 dollars/1000 cubic meters, which is the price used the last time the prices were changed, to the current level of 460 dollars/ 1000 cubic meters, the change of the structure of the gas which make up the gas unit cost (CUG) and the need to create the stock of natural gas, in order to guarantee the safety and continuity of the natural gas supply for all consumers in the winter of 2011-2012.

The Gas Unit Cost intended for non-household consumers will be calculated based on a structure of the mix which will include 77% domestically produced gas and 23 % imported natural gas.

The Gas Unit Cost for household consumers will be calculated based on a structure of the mix which will include 89% domestically produced gas and 11% imported natural gas, according to the ANRE.

The last revision of the price of natural gas was made on July 1st, 2009.