Moldova's institutions, entities involved in energy sector obliged to carry out more urgent actions in 60-day period

Chisinau, 3 December /MOLDPRES/ - The head of the parliamentary commission for economy, budget and finance, Radu Marian, following today’s public hearings on the increase in the tariff for natural gas and its impact on the consumers and the national economy, set forth a plan of urgent actions for the next 60 days, which is to be carried out by the key institutions in the energy sector.      

„We organized public parliamentary hearings on the situation of the tariffs for energy resources, especially the natural gas, on which the heating of about 30 per cent of the residents depends and which directly influences the tariffs for thermal energy. We listened the explanations of the institutions involved, we drew the preliminary conclusions and established emergency tasks for them,’’ the lawmaker noted.

According to Marian, it is true that the tariffs from Moldova depend on the international quotations. ‘’What we can directly influence, as state institutions, is the way we support the population through compensations. Nevertheless, we understand why many people are discontented or perplexed – there were expectations, but the reality proved to be different. Just as I said also during the hearings, we consider that certain mistakes were committed in the process of procurement of natural gas, such as: defective inter-institutional communication, micro-management of certain institutions, lack of planning of procurements for long term, etc.’’ Radu Marian Also said.    

The MP confirms that Moldova has ahead difficult weeks, because of the risks related to the supply with natural gas of the Transnistrian region. ‘’The right bank does not have problems of supply, but we must identify solutions for the left bank of Dniester. The principal priority in the energy sector, at this moment, is the avoiding of a crisis in the Transnistrian region – a situation which does not suit anybody. At the same time, it is essential that the state’s institutions act quickly, in order to minimize the risk of the sharp adjustings of tariffs,’’ the quoted source said.   

Following these hearings, the institutions and entities involved were asked to carry out more urgent actions in a period of 60 days.

MOLDOVAGAZ, TERMOELECTRICA, CET NORD ENTERPRISES: Should submit a plan for the diversification of the products from the portfolio of natural gas and a programme of procurements for a period of about 12 months; carrying out of the acquisitions gradually, through dividing them in contracts with different price formulas, different providers, different periods and diverse products (for instance, annual, quarterly and monthly deliveries), in order to reduce the risks on market.  

ENERGY MINISTRY: Should organize a working group with the actors from the energy market, in order to facilitate the accelerated transition to the free market; must minimize the direct intervention and micro-management in the daily procurements of energy resources; the officials and civil servants cannot replace the professional traders on the platforms available on the international markets for estimations and acquisitions; should make additional efforts at the political level, in order to identify strategic providers of energy resources at reasonable prices; must establish, along with the Public Property Agency (APP), annual performance indicators for the energy companies; such as the: profitability, number of clients attracted, quality of energy resources contracted, level of diversification of the gas sources, etc.     

ENERGOCOM COMPANY: Must work out a plan for increasing the number of clients, including on regional markets. Energocom should become more active on the regional trade market and one of the principal goals should be the increase in the profit, thus contributing to the state budget; should present a plan for the tapping of the retail gas market in Moldova, including for households and small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Energocom must become a competitor on market, thus contributing to more competitive tariffs for consumers.  

„Starting from the 2024 year, we are part of the free natural gas market; thus, we must adopt the practices used all over Europe for decades,’’ MP Radu Marian added.