Poland's Energy Regulatory Office (URE) has approved an increase in consumer gas prices by 7 to 10 percent, effective from April. The fees will differ depending on which tariff group customers fall into and also on which voivodship they reside in.
According to the URE, the average increase in fees for those who use gas only for cooking (and therefore fall into the first tariff group – W1), will be around zł.1.81 per month. But for those living in the Mazowieckie voivodship, in which Warsaw is located, the increase will be zł.1.38 per month for consumers in the W1 category.
An average increase of zł.8.81 per month will apply to the second tariff group (W-2), that is for those who use natural gas for cooking and heating water. In Mazowieckie, the average monthly increase will be zł.9.44.
Those who fall within the final category, W-3, which applies to consumers who use gas to heat their homes, will pay on average zł.35.42 more per month. In Mazowieckie, these same users will pay even more, at zł.37.88 extra a month.
URE's move to approve an increase in fees comes after several months of talks with Poland's gas monopolist PGNiG, which applied to the URE for tariff increases on October 25, 2011.
“In comparison to the prices of gas for individual customers in other European countries such as the Czech Republic, Germany, France, Slovakia and Spain, the resulting prices for Polish consumers after the fee changes will still be the lowest,” PGNiG said in a statement.
According to PGNiG, the new tariffs largely stem from a recent weakening of the złoty, which has made gas imports more expensive.
