Chisinau mayor rejects Moldovagaz's accusations of not observing memo

Chisinau's mayor rejects the accusations put up by Moldovagaz that the municipality does not observe the memo signed on November 12 by Termocom, Moldovagaz and the local administration, Info-prim Neo reports. Dorin Chirtoaca called the accusations as “groundless, and totally abusive” at a news conference Tuesday and said the solution to overcome the crisis was the consumers paying for Termocom's heat. He wants to separate the discussions concerning the tariff and the debts. Chirtoaca was accused by representatives of the majority coalition in the Chisinau Council (CMC) of not proposing the CMC a tariff to be approved, and thus he “did not respect the memo.” Chirtoaca has reiterated that “the local administration considers it is just to have a tariff of 540 lei per Gcal, as is now,” but a draft decision providing for a charge of 842 lei, proposed by Termocom in November, was given to councilors on November 12. The mayor says it is now the CMC's competence to approve the charge and the memo was signed in fact by the secretary of the Municipal Council, Valeriu Didencu, Moldovagaz's manager Alexandr Gusev, Termocom's administrator Dionisie Antocel, and it was confirmed by CMC chairman Eduard Musuc. In a communique issued on November 25, Moldovagaz says “in case the local authorities from Chisinau go on breeching the their commitments and do not make sure they pay for the natural gas delivered, Moldovagaz will find itself in the situation when the reducing the supply to the energy plants in the Chisinau will be a forced measure, but the only one possible.” The memorandum signed on November 12 provides for the municipality to pay its debts of 148 million lei to Termocom till the end of the year, as the CMC was to adopt a tariff of 740 lei/Gcal till November 21.