Heating bills in Bulgaria will rise from January and the new prices will take in account the twin increases in the prices of natural gas in October and January, the chairperson of Bulgaria's State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission Konstantin Shoushoulov said on November 18.

The initial increase, as forecast by the regulator, was for 10 to 12 per cent. The price of natural gas, however, rose by 24 per cent in October and state-owned gas distributor Bulgargas has already said that it would require a further 26 per cent increase in January.

Should lawmakers delay any further adopting changes to the regulations that now allow heating utilities to hike prices only once a year, the companies will continue amassing debts, Shoushoulov said. The capital's heating utility Toplofikatsiya Sofia could accumulate a staggering 40 million leva in losses by the end of the year, whereas Toplofikatsiya Plovdiv would be eight million leva in the red. In Veliko Turnovo, the heating utility would lose more than a million leva, and all of them will be operating until the end of the year at a further loss.

Toplofikatsiya Plovdiv predicted that it would raise prices in winter by 12.8 per cent, whereas in Sofia the heating utility has abstained from making any forecasts, saying that it was yet to recalculate the costs.

Starting January 1 2009, the prices of electricity produced by heating utilities would also change. The Sofia heating company's strategy is to boost the prices of electricity even more significantly, planning to use the extra revenue to offset the increase in heating prices. This however would be reflected in the price of electricity for the customers who are obliged to purchase it on the free market.