The public utility SA “Moldovagaz” last year sustained losses of 3.1 billion lei in its economic-financial activity owing to the depreciation of the national currency. Among other causes for the losses is the unprofitable tariff policy pursued by the National Agency for Energy Regulation and the debts of the thermoelectric enterprises to “Moldovagaz”, IPN reports, quoting a press release of the company.
The company said the difference in the exchange rate was set based on the recalculation in lei when “Moldovagaz” reported the debts to “Gazprom” and SRL “Factoring-Finans”. For comparison, on December 31, 2014, the official exchange rate of the Moldovan leu against the dollar was 15.6152 lei, while in 2015 this rose by 25.9% and was 19.6585 lei on December 31, 2015. Consequently, the depreciation of the national currency negatively influenced the conditions of converting the currency for making payments to “Gazprom”.
“Moldovagaz” also said that the essential factors that generated the accumulation of debts for the supplied natural gas include the unprofitable tariff policy of the National Agency for Energy Regulation, given that the natural gas tariffs haven’t been reviewed in 2011-2015. The current tariff methodology generates losses both to “Moldovagaz” and to the affiliated companies following the diminution of the norm of losses in the gas distribution networks included in the tariff and the non-covering of all the costs incurred by the company by the tariff.
