Lib-Dems ask Govt. to review natural gas charges

The Liberal-Democratic Party from Moldova (PLDM) calls the tariff policy in the energy sector „unjustified, protectionist and politicized”. The party asks the Government to switch the natural gas charge to its real value, in conformity with the existing methodology and to develop a functional and fair system of compensations for the poor, who the most affected by the tariff hike, Info-Prim Neo reports. PLDM leader Vlad Filat told a new conference Monday the decision of the energy regulator (ANRE) to raise the charges as of August 1 had a political subtext. He believes the Government, through ANRE's agency, made namely this risky decision in order not to operate the charge hikes during the electoral period. Yet the consequences of this increase will be laid on the shoulders of the poor categories, said Vlad Filat. „They thus create a reserve for suppliers, covered from the consumers' pockets, which credit the companies,” PLDM's vice president, the economist Veaceslav Negruta, said. He has pointed out the new natural gas, heat and power charges are exaggerated and were approved by ANRE with deviations from the established methodology and on the basis of prerequisites denatured deliberately. Defying its own methodology, ANRE operated the hikes without taking into account factors as the continual appreciation of the Moldovan currency, the increase of gas consumption, the volumes of natural gas shipped through Moldova, etc., says Veaceslav Negruta. In establishing the has charge, ANRE took as basic the exchange rate of 10.78 lei per $1, while the actual rate was 9.7 lei in July, as the appreciation trend is maintaining, Veaceslav Negruta said. The economist believes the rise of tariffs creates conditions for the illegal enrichment of interest groups related to the power, generates extra-incomes for monopolies and increases the financial pressure over the end user. Only in the first 6 months of the year, „Moldova-Gaz” gained extra-profits worth 180 million lei from the difference of the exchange rate, the PLDM deputy president said. As of 1 August, the charges for the natural gas rose by 22.8% on average, as the power grew some 12%. For the last two years, the natural gas in Moldova rose three-fold (from 1,330 lei to 3,523 lei), the heat grew twice more expensive (from 233 lei to 524 lei), as the electricity rose by 30% (from 0.78 lei to 1.1 lei per kWt/h).