Following two price increases in January and in April, gas prices will rise again today by an average 10%, reports index.hu. For those who receive subsidies for gas, the price rise may reach 15%, and in October, an even bigger price increase is in the pipeline.

While the price of household gas will rise 9.9%, industrial gas will cost 7.7% more. The price of district heating and electricity will follow suit, with even sharper price hikes likely in the final months of the year. The amount of the price increase is below the amount proposed by Magyar Energia Hivatal (Hungarian Energy Office) for the second time this year.

In December 2007, the average price of residential gas was Ft 101 (€0.425), which now has jumped to Ft 123. For an average family with average consumption and no subsidies, the extra cost will be about Ft 1,540 a month.

Since subsidies will not increase, low income housholds will see the highest price hikes, between 11.4% and 15.4%. Roughly 1.62 million households receive some sort of gas price subsidy, calculated on the basis of their monthly income. This is nearly two-thirds of all households using gas.

A 1% increase in the price of gas translates into a 0.65% increase in the price of district heating and electricity. While the MSZP parliamentary faction is now discussing subsidies for district heating, Fidesz would reduce taxes which probably will not happen because the government does not support the idea, but some sort of subsidies will be introduced for district heating.