This information was confirmed at a briefing at the Council of Ministers by Bulgarian Energy Holding CEO Jacklen Cohen. He explained that Overgas had sent Bulgargaz a letter, proposing that a contract be concluded between the two at once. This guarantees that close to 200,000 households in the country will not be left without gas as of midnight, January 1. PM Boyko Borissov commented that had it not been for the efforts made in the past couple of days, gas deliveries to Overgas consumers would have been halted at midnight. According to the Overgas letter, a contract has been signed with Bulgargaz covering the month of January, and in that time deliveries for the other periods of the year will be negotiated.
The Bulgarian Prime Minister stated that under the circumstances, the deliveries of Russian gas should be increased, and that under the contract, once there is an increase, the price goes up by 10 percent. He added that he had authorized Bulgartransgaz CEO Georgi Gergov to conduct negotiations with the Russian side so as to avoid this 10 percent rise. Boyko Borissov was adamant that Bulgaria had no problem with the Russian side and that it was supplying gas rhythmically. He called on the Russian side to show understanding, adding that he expected a solution to be found within the next 10 days.
“At this moment we can guarantee to the Bulgarian citizens that through the gas network operator Bulgartansgaz, which will supply to Bulgargaz, we will continue to deliver gas at the contracted prices,” Prime Minister Boiko Borisov said.
