Moldovan government proposes ANRE to establish a fixed tariff for natural gas for end consumers for a period of 14 months.
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development, Andrei Spinu, announced this while commenting on the initiative that has appeared in the public space regarding the establishment of a tariff for 6 or 8 months. He explained that the difference in tariffs is amortized taking into account the fact that the purchase price for gas is high in winter and lower in summer. “The current purchase price is about $450 per 1,000 cubic meters. In October, the price was $890, in September - $550, in August - $450. In this situation, it is mathematically clear that if we apply a tariff of 8 lei, this will not be enough to pay for the gas itself,” said Andrei Spinu. He also specified that the final decision remains with ANRE. The current gas tariff is 11.08 lei per 1 cubic meter including VAT. Earlier, the National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE) presented calculations, from which it followed that the tariff for natural gas for household consumers in Moldova could decrease by 20.5% - from 11.08 lei to 8.81 lei per 1 cubic meter. In particular, the previously approved preliminary tariff for natural gas at points of exit from low-pressure gas distribution networks is proposed by ANRE to be reduced by 20.5% - from 10260 lei to 8161 lei per 1,000 cubic meters (without VAT). ANRE calculated these new gas tariffs for consumers taking into account the lower average purchase price of fuel at the level of $307.9 per 1,000 cubic meters and took into account a different exchange rate of 17.69 lei per $1 instead of the previously laid down in the preliminary exchange rate of 17.9 lei per $1. At the same time, Andrei Spinu noted that if ANRE lowers the gas tariff for household consumers in Moldova from December 1 from 11.08 lei to 8.81 lei per 1 cubic meter, then in January it can grow up to 13 lei. He explained that from the information provided by Moldovagaz to ANRE, it follows that the average gas tariff is about 11 lei per 1 cubic meter including VAT was calculated for 14 months and covers the period of November-December 2021 and the whole of 2022, based on estimates of the gas price that will be next year. At the same time, from the materials of ANRE it follows that when developing the final tariff for gas, which may decrease post factum from December 1 of this year by 20.5% - from 11.08 lei to 8.81 lei per 1 cubic meter, the energy regulator took into account the average gas price only in 2021. “If ANRE makes a decision based on the methodology only for 2021, with some deviations, then it can approve the tariff at about 9 lei per 1 cubic meter. But if we follow this formula and do not take into account 14 months, then it is possible that in January there will be an additional increase in the tariff already up to 13 lei,” said Andrei Spinu. According to him, the government is ready for any scenario, and in any case will pay compensation to end consumers, but the Cabinet of Ministers considers it more preferable to have a stable, predictable tariff for the whole year, so that there is no pressure on people and business with a possible increase in the cost of gas during the year. At the same time, Spinu stressed that the authorities understand that the tariff of 11 lei is high, but if the contract with Gazprom had not been signed and all gas was bought at exclusively market prices, then the gas tariff could have been 23 lei per 1 cubic meter. “We understand that we are going through a difficult period and it will be difficult for many to pay for gas at higher tariffs, and therefore we did everything to have gas at a good price and provided for a package of compensations to make it easier for citizens to make payments,” Andrei Spinu said. // 09.12.2021 – InfoMarket
