Immediately after the presidential elections, Moldovan citizens can expect a new increase in energy prices, the leader of the opposition party Our Party, Renato Usatii, warned today, September 5.
According to him, this is inevitable, as the Romanian company that manages the republic’s gas transportation network, under the auspices of the current authorities, increased the gas transportation tariff by 266%.
Previously, Moldova’s gas transportation system was managed by Moldovatransgaz SRL, a subsidiary of Moldovagaz JSC. Last year, in the framework of the implementation of the Third European Energy Package, the transportation networks, by decision of the National Energy Regulatory Agency (NARE), were transferred to the management of Vestmoldtransgaz, a subsidiary of the Romanian company Transgaz.
“At the time of the network transfer, the tariff for natural gas transportation was 237.2 lei per thousand cubic meters of gas. Immediately after the network transfer, in October 2023, Vestmoldtransgaz applied to ANRE for an increase in the tariff and received a new one: 431.2 lei per thousand cubic meters of gas. But not even a year has passed: on August 23, 2024, ANRE, at the request of Vestmoldtransgaz, again increased the tariff for gas transportation – now to 631.9 lei per thousand cubic meters. That is, in less than a year, ANRE increased tariffs for natural gas transportation by 266%.” – Usatii emphasized.
According to the leader of Our Party, these costs are included in the general gas tariff: if a year ago the share of natural gas transportation costs in the tariff of each consumer was 23.7 bans per cubic meter, today it is already 63.1 bans.
“The latest increase is still to be included in the general tariff in the next review. Immediately after the presidential elections Maia Sandu and his government plan to increase natural gas and electricity rates,” – concluded Renato Usatii.
