Gas charges have been raised because import prices increase and Moldovan leu depreciates, ANRE head

The factors that contributed to the rise in gas charges for end-users are the increasing purchase prices and the depreciation of the Moldovan leu, the director general of the National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE)Victor Parlicov said during the program “Politics Live” on the public TV channel Moldova 1. “In the first quarter, we took into account only the import price that was US$232. When fixing the new charges, we took into consideration the possible increases in the third and fourth quarters so that we do not modify the tariffs for end-users by the end of this year anymore,” Victor Parlicov said, quoted by Info-Prim Neo. According to the Agency's director general, the issue of tariffs is the problem of a nonfunctional economy that does not allow collecting money into the budget and creating workplaces. It is not yet known if the charges will be again adjusted at the start of 2011. “There are many uncertainties as Moldova will start buying gas at the average European price next year,” Victor Parlicov said. He also said that a positive point is that the tax for transporting gas via Moldova could be renegotiated so as to offset the increased import price. In the same program, Alex Oprunenco, program director of the analytic center Expert-Grup, said government strategies should be implemented in order to reduce the social risks and the energy prices' dependence on foreign factors. On May 14, the ANRE increased the average natural gas charge for end-users by 14.1%, to 4,098 lei per 1 000 cubic meters (without VAT).