ANRE will exclude part of Moldovatransgaz expenses from gas tariff

Over the period of 2008-2011, Moldovatransgaz incurred unjustified expenses of roughly 58 million lei after buying equipment by means of intermediaries, including off-shore firms, as found by the National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE) following an audit at Moldovatransgaz. The company denies the conclusion, claiming that all the expenses were lawful, Info-Prim Neo reports. The ANRE said in a press release that Moldovatransgaz bought residential gas meters from two intermediaries – instead of contacting the manufacturer directly or its official dealer in Moldova – which inflated the price by 45.3 million lei. Further, the company reportedly feigned an invitation for bids to contract an intermediary to buy specialized vehicles for a total 15.7 million lei, which was by 7 million lei more than the actual price. The ANRE Board decided these “inefficient expenses” should be excluded from the gas rate and requested Moldovatransgaz to present an action plan, within a month, to redress the irregularities. The ANRE decision and audit report will be forwarded to Parliament and Government for information and to the General Prosecutor's Office for examination. Earlier this year, two ANRE audits found unjustified expenses of 114 million lei at Moldovatransgaz, prompting the General Prosecutor's Office to initiate probes. Moldovatransgaz replied in a press release that it disagreed with ANRE's decision. “The ANRE hasn't presented any evidence to confirm the non-transparent nature of our procurement procedures. Much to the contrary, the entire procurement process was public, open, transparent, and all the information on tender proceedings was available to the general public”, the company stated.