One of the directors of the National Agency for Energy Regulation (NAER) Octavian Calmîc anticipates that the rise in the natural gas rate will lead to other price rises. The gas rate in December can be reviwed up. The electricity prices this year will not be raised as the current contract for the purchase of power expires at the end of next March, IPN reports.

The NAER director said the impact of the new natural gas rate on the citizens will be considerable and most of the gas bills could remain unpaid. Previous experience shows that when the rates are increased, the debts accumulated by the citizens also grow.

“When the rates go up, the unpaid bills grow proportionally. We expect that the current rates will lead to a rise in consumers’ debts. We will propose that all the consumers who do not fully pay the bills in winter should not be disconnected from the supply. The regulations now provide that the nonpayment of bills leads to disconnection from the natural gas system. We will oblige the operators not to do this during the cold period of the year,” Octavian Calmîc stated in the talk show “Emphasis on Today” on TVR Moldova channel.

The NAER director noted the forecasts are not very optimistic as the higher gas rate will generate consecutive price rises. The electricity price will be the next to be increased.

“In December, we will review the heat prices and then the electricity prices. We are entering an active period and will take many sensitive, possibly unpopular decisions. More price rises will follow the increase in the gas rate as there is a direct connection between the price of gas and electricity. The water and sewer charges are also expected to rise. The price of electrical energy will not be changed until next March as there are particular contractual obligations and we consider they will be respected,” said Octavian Calmîc.

The National Agency for Energy Regulation on November 9 approved the natural gas rate for end users at 10.26 lei per cubic meter of gas. The new rate will be applied retroactively, starting from November 1. Taking into account the VAT of 8%, the rate for residential users will be 11.08 lei per cubic meter of gas.

The Government announced that the system for paying compensations for the high natural gas rate will be presented in a news conference on November 10.