The National Agency for Energy Regulation (NAER) on November 9 approved the natural gas rate for end users at 10.260 lei per cubic meter of gas, up from 4.298 lei per cubic meter. 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, IPN reports.

NAER director Ștefan Creangă told a news conference that the tariff deviations for SA “Moldovagaz” total about 1.4 billion lei. The financial pressure faced by the supplier makes the payment of the purchase price of the gas supplied to Moldova impossible. “Since the start of this year, we have witnessed a continuous rise in the average prices of gas each month. In the first quarter, the price was US$124 per 1,000 cubic meters, but in the second quarter it was US$541 per 1,000 cubic meters already,” stated Ștefan Creangă.

One of the conditions of the contract for the supply of gas to Moldova was to pay for the gas consumed in October and November. Given the very large deviations and the high prices, the Commission on Emergencies decided that the rates will start to be applied on November 1. “Therefore, NAER had to comply and to execute the decisions taken in emergency situations. From my viewpoint, the decision is correct as the situation created before the signing of the contract was very difficult for the gas system of the Republic of Moldova,” stated the Agency’s director.

Also, the Commission on Emergencies obliged NAER to fully verify the calculations presented by Moldovagaz and to review the tariffs until November 30.

Ștefan Creangă said the price presented by Moldovagaz is approximate. “This rate is high, but it should lead to the balancing of the system and the consumers should be able to pay for it. NAER, when it approves the rates, takes two factors into account - the consumers’ capacity to pay and the supplier’s capacity to supply gas,” he stated.