Gas crisis: 1.5 million people in Hungary might face insoluble problems due to a bad decision
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Currently, 1.5 million people are living in multi-apartment buildings supplied by district heating or common central heating. Gergely Gulyás, the prime minister’s chief of staff, said the government’s July revision of the utility price caps does not apply to them. However, the company determining gas prices published its latest data this week. Based on that, the worsening situation will likely give headaches to some residents.
HEA determined a very high reference gas price
According to atlatszo.hu, government-close sources told them that the government’s utility price cap scheme may have ended in apartments supplied by district heating or common central heating. The prime minister’s chief of staff, Gergely Gulyás, talked about the opposite in July. But the gas price was “only” 182 EUR/MWh then.
The Magyar Energetikai és Közmű-szabályozási Hivatal (MEKH, in English: Hungarian Energy and Public Utility Regulatory Authority, HEA) determines each May the reference price of gas billed by the service providers. However, this year they decided to extend that period until 26 August. They expected the prices to decrease during the summer.
However, the opposite happened. The prices continued to increase, so the HEA determined gas prices at 300 EUR/MWh this week. That is a tenfold rise compared to the 2021 figures. It means the company would have a 120 billion HUF revenue and a 962 billion HUF expenditure this year if the government’s utility price cap scheme remains in all apartments with common heating. That is an unbearable balance.