Inaccurate and even false information about the methodology of forming the natural gas price is disseminated in the public sphere, the National Agency for Energy Regulation has said. Under the tariff methodology and the Law on Natural Gas, the regulated prices and tariffs in the natural gas sector are determined as annual average values.

Thus, the regulated tariffs and prices are calculated and approved based on the forecast value of the annual average price of natural gas, not on half-yearly or quarterly prices. However, the institution will analyze the results of the activity on the natural gas market in 2017, including the import price forecast for 2018, and will then approve the new natural gas supply tariffs. The assessment will take into account all the factors that are decisive in determining the formation of natural gas prices, including the evolution of the exchange rate and import price.

Last week, a number of energy experts said there are preconditions for decreasing the natural gas tariff by 30% at a time when the import price of natural gas declined significantly, while the fluctuations on the currency market are different from those based on which the current tariff was calculated. On January 22, members and sympathizers of the Party “Action and Solidarity” requested the National Agency for Energy Regulation to immediately reduce the natural gas tariff for the same reasons.