Experts work on energy chapter of Development Strategy until 2020

What should Moldova do to have safe sources of energy? What should be done to optimize the use of energy? Experts of the working group entrusted with the task of devising the energy chapter of the new strategic planning document “Moldova 2020” looked for answers to these and other questions, Info-Prim Neo reports. Vadim Ceban, head of the Ministry of Economy’s General Energy Policy Division, said the working group that consists of representatives of the central public authorities, the business circles and academic community has convened two times. “We analyzed the present situation in the energy sector, the problems and impact of this sector, especially of the tariffs, on the population in general and certain groups of people in particular, and the international trends in the energy sector. We now must agree the objectives for the next eight years. The number of objectives must be low as the Development Strategy until 2020 will be a framework document that will present the Government’s strategic view, not a sector document. It will define the steps that must be taken so that we have a competitive energy sector in 2020,” said Vadim Ceban. According to Professor Valentin Arion, this chapter must necessarily include such specific goals as the diversification of the sources of energy, improvement of the own energy generation capacities, including by using renewable sources of energy, solar energy, and biomass, and of energy efficiency. Among other important objectives are to modernize the legislation and the normative framework regulating the energy sector and adjust them to the European standards so that Moldova is able to integrate into the European energy market, and to attract investments. Nicolae Mogoreanu, head of the Union of Electric Power Users, approved of the fact that the general public is consulted about the priories of the Development Strategy until 2020. “But, given the specific objectives in the energy sector, the goals should be discussed with specialists first and only afterward with civil society,” he stated. The development strategy “Moldova 2020” will be a strategic planning document based on several priorities only so as to avoid doubling other documents. The seven priorities are: education, roads, finances, business, social insurance, energy, and justice.