Householders will face increasing fuel and energy prices in the months ahead. Natural gas will rise by 4.7 per cent from July and heating rates in Sofia will rise by about four per cent, according the the preliminary assessment by the State Energy and Water Regulatory Commission (SEWRC), cited by Dnevnik daily on June 28 2011.

The steepest increase of central heating cost, registering more than eight per cent, will be in the port city of Varna, followed by Rousse, with about seven per cent. The northern Bulgarian town of Pleven will be hit with a five per cent rise, and Vratsa with three per cent. The smallest increase of between 1.5 and two per cent will be in Veliko Turnovo, Dnevnik said.

The main reason for the hike in gas prices is the increase in oil prices and fluctuations in the dollar-euro exchange rate allied to the euro's current loss of ground.

The cost of heating, in turn, will increase because of the increase in gas costs and due to companies meeting their payments for the second year of the regulatory period, according to Angel Semerdzhiev, head of the SEWRC.

"It is impossible for heating prices to remain the same, considering the price of natural gas has been rising in the last two quarters, by 9.38 per cent overall," Semerdzhiev said, cited by Dnevnik.

According to the SEWRC report, the accumulated gas price increase, amounting to more than nine per cent, has pushed heating rates higher than expected in the third quarter of 2011.

There will be an increase in the electricity bills for household consumers, although by not more than two per cent, the report said.

The final calculations on the is expected to make a final decision on the increase in heating and power rates in an open session by the end of the month.