If the fuel sellers in Moldova do not react to the changes on international markets and do not adjust fuel prices, during the next few weeks the authorities will come up with a bill to restore the previous fuel pricing methodology, President Igor Dodon was quoted by IPN as saying on January 27.
After the meeting with the Premier and Parliament Speaker, Igor Dodon told the press that the fuel sellers should swiftly react to the changes on international markets. The prices change rather often. They either rise or decline and fluctuations can be witnessed weekly. But the changes in prices are not visible, especially when these decrease.
President Dodon reminded that according to the previous methodology, the National Agency for Energy Regulation set the price ceilings on gasoline and diesel fuel once in two weeks. The methodology was modifier and fuel sellers were allowed to set the retail prices of the main fuels and liquefied petroleum gas by themselves, within an annual markup of 10%.
“According to the legislation, there is a profit margin, but the costs are not controlled. Each fuel seller can invent costs and the state cannot interfere. They would say that they meet the markup, but they could raise the costs themselves by charging different commissions,” stated Igor Dodon, noting that if the fuel sellers do not react, a bill to amend the methodology will be proposed.
Recently, a number of filling stations posted higher fuel prices. The prices of gasoline and diesel fuel rose by 0.7 lei on average, while of liquefied petroleum gas by 1 leu. As a result of a meeting on the issue, Premier Ion Chicu instructed the Ministry of Economy and Infrastructure, the Ministry of Finance and the National Agency for Energy Regulation to exmaine the effects of the modification of the method of regulating fuel prices during a week. “I don’t think it is right to allow business entities to form the prices of oil products. I do not want to influence the decision of the working group, but I ask you to carry out this analysis as a matter of urgency and to come up with proposals,” stated the official.
