The National Electricity Regulation Commission issued a statement on July 24 saying it had raised retail prices of natural gas by 20 percent for households starting September 1 and by 20 percent for municipal heating companies as of October 1.
This, the second stiff tariff increases on gas for the population in less than a year, is being adopted to meet one of the International Monetary Fund’s conditions for providing the next tranche of $3.3bn from a $16.4bn standby loan. The commission last hiked natural gas prices for the population on October 25, 2008, by about 35 percent, with the increase taking effect that December.
The report did not specifically say what the new prices would be, but preliminary calculations suggest that households will be paying Hr 0.580 per cubic meter if their annual consumption does not exceed 2,500 cubic meters, and Hr 0.637 if they do not have a gas meter. If annual consumption exceeds 2,500 and 6,000 cubic meters, the price will be Hr 0.878 per cubic meter with a meter and Hr 0.966,36 without a meter.
If annual consumption stands between 6,000 and 12,000 cubic meters, consumers will pay Hr 1.798 per cubic meter with a meter and Hr 1.977 without a meter.
If annual consumption exceeds 12,000 cubic meters, the price will be Hr 2.148 per cubic meter with a meter and Hr 2.362 without a meter.
Starting October 1, the ceiling price for municipal heating companies was raised from Hr 872.78 per thousand cubic meters to Hr 1,047 per thousand cubic meters (including VAT, target surcharge, tariffs for transportation and delivery, storage expenses).
The Commission order takes effect only after it is registered by the Justice Ministry.
The increases come nearly a year after the commission raised gas prices sharply for the population.
