Moldovan consumers to pay by 36-per-cent higher price for power

Chisinau, 18 July /MOLDPRES/ - Price of power supplied by Gaz Natural Fenosa company will be of 2.15 lei per Kw/h against 1.58 lei as at present. The tariff was increased by 36 per cent, but the mentioned company’s representatives have said that they would contest in the court the decision of the National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE), as financial deviations were not expressly introduced in the decision.

The financial deviations of the biggest power supplier, created as a result of the leu’s depreciation against other currencies, reach the amount of 1.280 billion lei. „We will contest this decision. Union Fenosa will inform the European Energy Community, European Commission, IMF, EBRD and World Bank about this case. We will start an international action at law,” Head of Gaz Natural Fenosa Strategy and Development Rafael Huarte said.

Huarte added that Gaz Natural Fenosa requested ANRE to indicate the amount of losses, otherwise there is no certainty that this amount would be recovered. ANRE admitted that the increases were due „exclusively to depreciation of leu”. ANRE Head Sergiu Ciobanu highlighted that all suppliers were treated equally, the financial deviations were not taken into account. „It is a rather complicated situation, a force majeure situation,” Ciobanu said.

ANRE set a price of 1.95 lei per Kw/h for consumers connected to medium voltage networks against 1.40 as at present.

Gaz Natural Fenosa Furnizare Energie requested ANRE to double tariffs up to 3.47 lei per Kw/h for domestic consumers and 2.25 lei for consumers connected to medium voltage networks. „If the leu’s depreciation has not produced, today we would be talking about a decrease of the tariff by 6.3 per cent,” Gaz Natural Fenosa Head Silvia Radu said.

More participants in the public meeting requested to be checked the way losses were inflicted and to what extent the tariffs requests were justified. It was proceed according to the principle „request more, in order to get what you want,” they said. On the other hand, Gaz Natural Union Fenosa representatives said that operated increase „are insufficient”.

The last adjustment of tariffs for electricity supplied to final consumers was operated by ANRE in May 2012, when the tariff for Union Fenosa was raised up by 6.8 per cent.

The new power tariffs will enter into force once published in the Moldovan Official Journal.

(Reporter V. Bercu, Editor L. Alcaza)