The Ministry of Economy and Gas Natural Fenosa in Moldova signed an arrangement on the regularization of the recovery of tariff deviations sustained as a result of the non-adjustment of the electric power tariffs in 2012 – 2015. The sides agreed that the recovery period will start on January 1, 2017 and will last until 2020. Now the tariff deviations, adjusted to the interest rate, will total about 1.75 billion lei, IPN reports.

According to the Ministry’s press office, as a result of negotiations the value of the tariff deviations claimed by Gas Natural Fenosa was decreased from 1.881 billion to 1.637 billion lei. The deviations will be recovered through the power distribution and supply tariffs that will be calculated and adjusted annually so as to fully recover the main debt during the agreed period, at an interest rate of 7.66% a year.

The signing of the arrangement between the Moldovan authorities and Gas Natural Fenosa was welcomed by the Secretariat of the Energy Community, which was the facilitator of the negotiations. The Secretariat considers that the non-signing of this document had a negative impact on the reputation of Moldova as a destination for investment and as a reliable partner for international organizations.

According to the Secretariat, the arrangement is a first decisive step towards ending a dispute at the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID), which lasted for several months.

In August 2015, Gas Natural Fenosa filed a lawsuit against Moldova at the ICSID following the non-inclusion by the National Agency for Energy Rogation of the financial deviations in the electric power tariff.