Croatia has second lowest natural gas price in Europe, says State Secretary

State Secretary in the Ministry of the Economy Ivo Milatić spoke at the Gas Forum 2023 on Thursday, saying he was confident that Croatian citizens would continue to have the second lowest natural gas price in Europe.

"Considering the average prices we had last year, that price would be significantly higher. The government's intention is not to increase the price of gas by a multiple amount, so I welcome HERA's (Energy Regulatory Agency) decision to start changing the methodology, because that is the first condition in general that we ,as the government, then react accordingly, and regulate certain other situations that we have to resolve in order to that the price is sustainable," said Milatić.

If there were no such procedures, he said, the price of gas would be around €100 per megawatt hour (MWh), and now HERA "remains at a price of approximately €41 per MWh".

"The price will certainly remain the same. However, let's wait for that change to happen, but it is certain that the price of gas will not be what people feared. Everything will be known next week, the VAT rate will, for sure, remain at five percent and I am quite convinced that Croatian citizens will continue to have the second lowest gas price in Europe, after Hungarians," the state secretary pointed out.

Milatić also pointed out that the decision to build an LNG terminal on the island of Krk was well thought out and that it was implemented at the right time.

Furthermore, Croatia filled the Okoli underground gas storage on time, which is still 90 percent full, he said.

"Even if we didn't have a mild winter, we would still have enough gas for this season, and we will have enough gas for the next season as well," Milatić said.