Moldova Gaz reduced natural gas supplies to the heat distributor Termocom and to Chisinau’s combined heat and power plants (CHPs) by 20 percent. Termocom said in a press release quoted by Info-Prim Neo that the gas distributor cut down supplies at 11:00 PM on Tuesday, December 18. As a consequence the CHPs were forced to reduce the temperature of the generated heat down to 74 degrees, which is by about 10 degrees lower than required. On December 14, Moldova Gaz issued a warning to Termocom demanding the heat distributor to “take adequate measures and pay the bills for the consumed natural gas”. The company has warned that if the debt is not cleared, it will be forced to implement the contract stipulations and downsize gas supplies to the level of payments. Termocom owes Moldova Gaz 26.5 million lei for November and 33.5 million lei for arrears accrued since the start of the year. Termocom lays the entire blame for the present situation on the city authorities that are unwilling to comply with a court decision and pay Termocom 149 million lei for debts. The city authorities do not recognise the debt and appealed the judgment to a higher court.