The president of SA Moldovagaz Vadim Ceban said that following assertions about a possible reduction in natural gas charges, the supplier did its own calculations and these show that the charges can be adjusted next year and only if the purchase price per 1,000 cubic meters of gas is US$450, IPN reports.

“The cost of gas for the fourth quarter of US$550, which is the average weighted price for October-November and December, is the starting point for the fourth quarter of 2023 in the possible reduction of natural gas charges. The purchase price of US$750 for a year is now included in the charge. For the fourth quarter, this price is US$600. It goes to the calculation of the charge that was adjusted at the beginning of June,” Vadim Ceban told a news conference.

According to him, three scenarios with purchase prices of US$550, US$500 and US$450 were examined. “We estimated the charges for the whole 2024 with the same projection. If the average weighted purchase price is US$450, we can see a particular decrease in the charge, of 20-21%,” stated Vadim Ceban.

The statements come in the wake of assertions about a possible decline in the natural gas charges for end users. Energy expert Sergiu Tofilat, a member of the Supervisory Board of SA “Moldovagaz”, anticipated that the natural gas charge in several months will fall under 13 lei. According to him, the charge will be decreased before the heating season and then again in January. For his part, Minister of Energy Victor Parlicov admitted that the natural gas for end users can be cheaper, but said that the charge will not decline as much as to 13 lei.