The price of electricity will remain unchanged until the end of 2018, said Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (EWRC) Chair Ivan Ivanov during a public discussion on a draft decision on power prices after a change in gas prices as of October, Focus News Agency reports.

“There is a draft EWRC decision that the price of electricity will remain unchanged until the end of the year. I also hope that the price will remain the same after that. Bulgargaz’ director has said he expects an increase in the gas price at the end of the fourth quarter, by less than 5%. If the increase is below 5%, there will be no change in the price of heating and electricity. I hope his forecast is correct, but many things may happen at international level that could affect the price of crude oil,” Ivan Ivanov said, according to Novinite.com.

He also said that the price of power transmission services would be gradually adjusted over the next years. In its latest decision, the regulator did not approve any substantial changes to network tariffs, he noted.

A few days ago, the regulator reported that IBEX (the Independent Bulgarian Energy Exchange) will be inspected because of recent complaints about major changes in the price of electricity, particularly in the short-term segment, as Energy and Water Regulatory Commission Chair Ivan Ivanov told reporters, quoted by Focus News Agency. One of the complaints came from an employer association, which asked the regulator to check for any violation of the rules, Ivanov said. The commission is indeed starting a preliminary investigation, he announced. The working group has 3 months to present its report, based on which the regulator will decide whether to open an investigation. The working group will examine any market manipulation or attempted manipulation as well as insider trading.