ECO-BUS WEEKLY DIGEST January 24-30 . Most important Economy & Business news by IPN
● MONDAY, January 24
Taxi drivers protest in front of Government Building
Several tens of cabs were parked on January 24 in protest in front of the Government Building. The cab drivers who came to the Great National Assembly Square complained that they work at a loss and the recent rises in the price of methane affect them more seriously. They demand that the authorities should offer them support. The taxi drivers noted that they do not remain with earnings after they pay the taxes and the costs for fuel and the state should intervene. A solution is to provide subsidies. If they are not heard, they will mount larger protests. The Association of Taxi Road Carriers said that many of the taxi companies became direct or indirect hostage to the foreign mobile taxi booking platforms as the fares are dictated by the chief from Moscow. The companies cannot set the own prices. To remain afloat somehow, they often resort to violations of the fiscal laws and illegally transport passengers. Such actions intensified after the price of methane grew considerably at the end of last year.
Orhei authorities insist on local public health commission’s decision
The Orhei local extraordinary public health commission’s decision will have legal effects until the responsible state institutions issue an official document that would invalidate the given decision, the head of the Orhei District Council Dinu Țurcanu told a news conference. Dinu Țurcanu said the Orhei commission’s decision to allow students to physically attend classes does not run counter to the decision taken by the National Extraordinary Public Health Commission, but was only adjusted to the district’s particularities. 5,000 primary school students learn in villages of Orhei district and the switchover to online would put the parents of these children face to face with the risk of losing the job and the earnings. The Orhei commission also allowed holding private events, such as wedding parties, baptizing ceremonies, commemoration or festive meals and public events. The amusement parks and recreational areas can also continue work. In the next meeting that was set for today, the commission will consider introducing the obligation for those who attend public events to do a rapid test bought from drugstores, said the head of the Orhei District Council.
NAER: Increase in compressed natural gas prices generates questions
The National Agency for Energy Regulation (NAER) ascertained with concern that the largest operator of stations selling compressed natural gas “TransAutoGaz” SRL on January 22 essentially increased the prices of methane . According to the Agency, the administration of Moldovagaz SA, which is the founder of “TransAutoGaz”, insipidly tried to argue the rise, enumerating a number of factors that cannot actually influence the structure of the price of compressed natural gas intended for vehicles at the current stage. “This type of fuel is primarily consumed by taxi service providers or by public transport (buses). Consequently, this increase substantially affects both of the sides, namely the service providers and their passengers,” the Agency said in a press release. NAER noted it is analyzing in detail the circumstances of the actions taken by “TransAutoGaz” SRL and reserves the right to request the Competition Council to investigate this case from the angle of the anti-competition legislation.
FEE Nord requests 50% rise in electricity rates
FEE Nord, the Balti-based power utility servicing the northern districts of Moldova, has asked the energy regulator ANRE to raise electricity rates by about 50%, it announced in a press release. The utility said it used an official methodology to calculate the increases so that the rates cover “the actual costs and expenses”. In particular, FEE Nord asks for 2.0314 lei/kWh (VAT excluded) at the entry points to the transportation grid; 2.1764 lei/kWh at the exit points from the transportation grid, 2.4564 lei/kWh for final consumers connected to medium voltage distribution systems, and 3.0664 lei/kWh for final consumers connected to low voltage distribution systems.
● WEDNESDAY, January 26
Rate for first 150 cubic meters of gas for household users will not rise
For the first 150 meters of consumed gas, the gas rate for household users will not increase, no matter what the National Agency for Energy Regulation decides, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița stated at the beginning of the January 26 meeting of the Cabinet. “For domestic consumers of natural gas, the rate in February and March for the first 150 cubic meters of consumed gas will not rise. We will keep the mechanism by which 50 cubic meters of gas cost 6.8 lei, while the next 100 cubic meters cost 7.9 lei. Moreover, we decided to come up with compensatory programs intended for particular business entities. We are working on a number of scenarios and these will be discussed with representatives of business entities,” said the Premier. The Government will consider possibilities for supporting the gas consuming companies that produce such bare essentials as bread and milk and small and medium-sized companies that consume gas. “We are also discussing other programs that can increase the purchasing power of categories of employees and of vulnerable families,” said Natalia Gavrilița.
Premier asks not to allow unjustified price rises
Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița requested the Ministry of Economy and the Ministry of Finance to urgently examine the possibility of extending the list of essential products for witch the profit margin is limited. She also asked not to allow price rises in an unjustified way or due to sabotage. At the start of the Cabinet meeting, Natalia Gavrilița said the country goes through a not at all easy period for the economy. The abuses on the market are a major threat in this period. “We see particular price rises that are not justified. The prices are dictated by the market, but in Moldova they are often dictated by monopolies or by cartel agreements. I cannot understand why the prices of these products can be very different at the producer or at the market or in the shop chain,” stated the official. “The discrepancies should be clarified. We must see if there is an economic reason. I want it to be very clear – not the Government and not Parliament increases prices. On the contrary, the Government does its best to protect the citizens from price rises. We are taking measures for this crisis to affect the citizens to a smaller extent. The Government will be near the people and will not allow a narrow interest group to sabotage our efforts”.
Ministry proposes doubling of subsidies for organic agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industry proposes doubling state subsidies for farmers willing to practice organic agriculture, including organic beekeeping. Responding to an inquiry from IPN, Marcela Stahi, department head at the Ministry, said that under the proposal, subsidies for the period of transition to organic farming methods for vegetables would increase from 3,000 to 7,000 lei per hectare in the first year and from 3,500 to 8,000 lei per hectare in the second year. The increase in subsidies will motivate more vegetable producers to grow organic products. It will also increase the number of beekeepers who will produce organic honey, said the ministry specialist. The executive director of the National Federation of Farmers, Vasile Mârzenco, who is also a vegetable grower, said that even these increased subsidies will not be enough amid increasing seed material and fuel prices. However, it will make it easier to some extent for farmers to practice eco-friendly agriculture. “Farmers’ interest in growing eco-friendly products will also increase due to a recent increase in prices of fertilizers and pesticides used in conventional agriculture. In organic production, yields are lower, but the prices of organic vegetables are higher compared to those grown by conventional methods”, Vasile Mârzenco told IPN.
● THURSDAY, January 27
Gas rates can be reduced after negative financial deviations are recovered, Moldovagaz
The president of the Administration Board of SA “Moldovagaz” Vadim Ceban said that if the natural gas rates are not raised, the company will accumulate a significant deficit. The forecasts deriving from the tendencies witnessed on the international market are that the purchase price will decline. This does not mean that the rates for consumers will be decreased. An eventual decline in the purchase prices will offer the company flexibility and a greater maneuvering space for making the payments to the Russian company “Gazprom”. An eventual decrease in rates for consumers can be requested only after all the negative financial deviations are recovered. Vadim Ceban told a news conference that the effective purchase price of natural gas this month is by 21.3% higher than the rate approved for household users. The total tariff deviations exceed 2.6 billion lei. The forecast purchase price of Russian gas in the first quarter of this year is US$333.47 million. The cost included in the approved rate is US$218.2 million. If the rate remains unchanged, the company will have a deficit of US$115.27 million.
PPA starts procedure for performing audit of Moldovagaz’s debt to Gazprom
The Public Property Agency (PPA) prepared the documents needed for launching the public procurement procedure for purchasing services to audit the debt owed by SA “Moldovagaz” to SA “Gazprom” and SRL “Factoring Finance” for the gas supplied to consumers on the right side of the Nistru River. The announcement of intent and the specification are to be published in the Public Procurement Bulletin and the Official Journal of the European Union, IPN reports, quoting the PPA. The documents will be published on January 28 and will be available on the PPA’s website and on the website EUR-Lex.
Government could allocate additional household compensations after gas tariff adjustments
The Emergencies Commission assembled to discuss the situation in the energy sector and the measures needed to eliminate the risks of gas supply disruptions. “The members of the Commission discussed the possibility of allocating additional compensations for household consumers. The size of compensations will be adjusted as a result of the revision of the consumer tariff requested by Moldovagaz. The National Agency for Energy Regulation is to analyze and approve, until January 31, the new tariff, after a thorough verification of the calculations presented by Moldovagaz”, the Government said in a press release. The Commission has also instructed cogeneration plants to adjust heat supplies to average atmospheric temperatures. It is estimated that such rationing could reduce gas consumption by as much as 5 million cubic meters.
● FRIDAY, January 28
Record prices: Gasoline sold for 23 lei, while diesel fuel for 20 lei a liter
The price of a liter of gasoline “95” is over 23 lei, while of a litter of diesel fuel is 20 lei. The National Agency for Energy Regulation for January 29-31 set record prices for the main oil products of standard type. The Agency made reference to the quotations on international stock exchanges which reached a new record high. Such price rises are witnessed in most of the states of the region, inclining Romania, which is the main supplier of fuels for Moldova. For comparison, a liter of gasoline “95” at the beginning of last September cost 20.23 lei, while a litter of diesel fuel cost 16.42 lei.
Letter to European Commission concerning waste export
The Moldovan authorities sent a letter to the European Commission for correcting the mistakes made earlier and for adjusting the list of waste that can be exported from European Union to Moldova. Details about the export of waste from the EU to Moldova were made by the Ministry of Environment following public discussions on the issue. In accordance with the European Union’s legislation on the export of particular waste intended for recovery, the list of waste and of countries to which this can be exported is periodically subject to review. The EU’s decision to add or remove particular types of waste is based on the national legislations concerning the waste import and processing regime. In the spring of 2019, by order of the European Commission, a study was carried out to adjust the list. Then the Republic of Moldova presented relevant information asked by the experts. However, a mistake was made in the process of compiling the list by the international experts and the provisions of the law on waste, which allow for exceptions on the import of particular categories of waste into the Republic of Moldova, weren’t included as exceptions in Annexes III and III-A of the European Commission’s Regulations.
Transport operators ask Infrastructure Ministry to provide real calculations
Transport operators, in a letter to the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, ask to provide real calculations of the tariffs for transport services and bus station services. If the authorities do not take clear and attainable measures for solving pressing problems faced in the field, they will not stop the corruption processes, while the carriers, in protest, will suspend regular routes. The letter is addressed to Minister Andrei Spînu, being signed by the Employers Association of Road Transport Operators. The letter says that for the fourth month already, the operators that serve regular national routes cannot reach a compromise with the Ministry as to the size of the tariffs for transport services and bus station services. “The provisions of the legislation that defends the rights of carriers and obliges the Ministry of Infrastructure to apply a tariff based on real calculations are violated and ignored in a cynic way by the Ministry,” said the operators, noting they are close to bankruptcy as they can no longer cover their costs. In some of the localities, all the routes were stopped.
Natural gas rates raised
The rate for the natural gas at points leaving low pressure distribution networks for household users was raised from 10.19 lei to 14.060 lei per m3 (without VAT), medium pressure distribution networks – from 8.58 lei to 12.450 lei per m3 (without VAT), and high pressure distribution networks – from 8.268 lei to 12.132 lei per m3. Such a decision was taken by the National Agency for Energy Regulation on January 28. It decided that the new rates, of about 15 lei with VAT included, will be applied retroactively, as from January 1, 2022. In the case of gas transmission networks, the tariff was raised from 7.77 lei to 11.612 lei per m3 of gas at entrance points and from 8.059 lei 11.919 lei per m3 of gas at exit points.
Heating tariffs increased too
After raising natural gas rates, the National Agency for Energy Regulation approved higher heating tariffs in Chisinau and Bălți. The price of electricity produced by thermoelectric plants were also raised. The consumers served by Termoelectrica will pay for heat 2,169 lei per gigacalorie, up from the current tariff of 1,689 lei/Gcal. The tariff for the consumers served by the thermoelectric plant CET-Nord was raised from 1,834 lei/Gcal to 2,115 lei lei/Gcal. The average annual price of the electric power produced by Termoelectrica was increased from 2.33 lei/kWh to 3.35 lei /kWh, without VAT. The electricity produced by CET-Nord will cost 3.11 lei/kWh, without VAT, up from 2.08 lei/kWh at present.
PSRM to challenge in court retroactive application of higher gas and heating tariffs
Representatives of the Party of Socialist (PSRM) announced that they will dispute in court the National Agency for Energy Regulation’s decision to apply the higher natural gas and heating rates retroactively. According to the party, the decision to introduce the higher tariffs as from January 1 is illegal as the principle of retroactivity can be applied only when the modification impose the situation. “Owing to the incompetence and criminal irresponsibility of the government, the people of this country now received one more serious blow through the significant increase in gas and heating rates, which will generate subsequent rises in the prices of a number of products, including bread and milk. This is evidently a policy of genocide against the own people pursued by the ruling regime,” said the PSRM. “We will suggest restoring the previous tariffs, applied before last November, of about 5 lei per m3 of gas, while the difference in the bill should be fully covered by the state.”
● SATURDAY, January 29
Parliamentary majority presents bill aimed at ensuring equal pays
In connection with the Equal Pay Day that is marked on February 22, Parliament will examine a bill to amend normative documents concerning remuneration, such as the Labor Code and the law to ensure equal pays for women and men. The salaries of women in Moldova are by 14% lower than those of men. “This bill, as a concept, is designed to put right an injustice, a gender-based social inequity – unequal pay between men and women,” bill sponsor Doina Gherman, head of the Parliament’s commission on foreign policy, stated in public consultations on the given draft law staged by the commission on social protection, health and family. “The most serious is the fact that discrepancies in the sectors where the salaries are higher increase significantly,” said the MP, noting the gap widens yearly. In the IT sector, the pay gap between men and women is of 38% on average. In finance and insurance, the gap is of 44%. According to the National Bureau of Statistics, the gender pay gap is of over 14,000 lei and this leads to a difference of about 5,000 lei in pensions.
Share capital of Moldova’s Railways to be raised
The Ministry of Finance will offer 377,756.56 lei, which is equal to €17,170.8, to the state-run company Moldova a’s Railways from the loan provided by the European Investment Bank within the project to purchase locomotives and to restructure rail infrastructure. A draft Government Decision to this effect was proposed for public debates. The allocated money will be used to pay the last installment for the bought locomotives and the advance for the works to rehabilitate the Bender-Căușeni-Basarabeasca-Etulia-Giurgiulești rail section. The payments must be made in accordance with the contract clauses. The Public Property Agency, which is the founder of Moldova a’s Railways, will ensure the augmentation of the enterprise’s share capital and will make the necessary changes to is statutes. The Government Decision will take effect after it is published in the Official Gazette.
Application of geothermal technologies is an optimal solution for Moldova, EEA
The Energy Efficiency Agency (EEA) is interested in geothermal energy technologies. “We do not have natural sources of hot springs, as Romania and other countries do. However, the application of such technologies in Moldova is an optimal solution,” EEA director Alexandru Ciudin has told IPN. “Ordinary water is pumped to a depth of over 100 meters and this takes heat from there where the constant temperature is of 12°C throughout the year. This way the consumers have running hot water. With a heat exchanger, hot spring water can be used to heat rooms. The given energy can be converted to generate hot air, as in the case of air conditioning systems. The 12°C water in summer can be used to decrease temperature inside rooms. By specialized technologies, the temperature can be regulated, depending on needs,” explained Alexandru Ciudin. Norway, Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Iceland are world leaders in the production of such technologies. Recently, Alexandru Ciudin had a working meeting with Árni Þór Sigurðsson, Iceland’s Ambassador to Russia and, simultaneously, to Moldova, in which the interlocutors conferred on the opportunities of cooperation between the two countries in renewable energy, primarily in studying Iceland’s experience in producing geothermal energy and other types of renewable energy.
