Moldovan electric energy consumers due to set smart meters to pay differentiated tariffs for day-time, night

Chisinau, 29 June /MOLDPRES/ - The electric energy consumers due to set smart meters in the next year might pay three different tariffs: night-time, day-time and for the maximal consumption hours. The Energy Ministry has initiated discussions on the matter with the providers on the market and the regulatory authority.      

In mid-June, the Energy Ministry launched, with the support of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Moldova and other development partners, a pilot programme on the setting of 35,000 smart meters, which accounts for about 3 per cent of all consumers; the action is part of the national plan on the energy sector’s digitalization.     

The initiative aroused interest among consumers and construction companies, who would also like to implement smart energy consumption solutions. The participants in the meeting said that, for the beginning, the scheme of the future tariffs would be applied only to the participants in the pilot project and the goal is to notice their behavior, consumption habits, if the eventual night-time tariffs, which are usually lower, help reduce the consumption curve and stabilize the electric energy system. In particular, during the winter months, there are pressing needs to reduce these curves of energy consumption.           

The neighbour countries, Romania, Ukraine, use differentiated tariffs and the Energocom Company buys a part of the electricity according to hours from the Romanian exchange OPCOM.    

The state secretary at the Energy Ministry, Cristina Pereteatcu, said the experiment’s goal was to educate the consumers, noting that the authorities prepare medium-and long-term solutions for the entire system.   

Photo: Energy Ministry