The right bank of the Nistru River has natural gas supplies that are enough for December and January, and the procurement process continues to cover the months of February and March. Acting chairman of Moldovagaz’s Board of Directors Vadim Ceban said that the gas purchase price represents the largest part of the charge and, in October-November, when the largest volumes of gas were bought, the purchase price increased sharply on the international market, IPN reports.
In order to satisfy the needs of the right bank of the Nistru, it is necessary to purchase 160 million cubic meters of gas. Vadim Ceban explained that the largest gas purchases were made in October-November, as the company did not have sufficient funds in summer.
"For the cold season, for consumers on the right bank of the Nistru, for the period between October and March inclusive, we need 725 million cubic meters of gas. At the moment, we have 580 million cubic meters. That is over 80% of the required quantity. We have gas for December and January. The process continues. From the beginning I can say that this is not a crisis. We still have to buy 50% of the gas needed in February and March. Next week, I hope that we will close the procurement process so that we do not delay the purchases until January because January is unpredictable. We also made purchases in summer. A large part of these purchases was made in July-August-September. Everyone asks us why you didn't make purchases in summer? But no one asks us if we had money. No one asks what the company's cash flow situation was. It's one thing to want and another thing to have funds to buy?", Vadim Ceban stated in the program "Voices of the Power" on Exclusiv TV channel.
He explained that the increase in gas charges is influenced, in particular, by the high procurement costs, which represent most of the charge. Between October and November, when Moldovagaz purchased the largest volumes of gas, prices on the international market grew significantly.
"In the structure of charges, 75% is the cost of gas. In October-November, during the period of massive purchases of natural gas, the price on the stock exchange rose sharply. On November 25, we already knew that we did not fit into the previously set charge and we had to address the request to the NAER to review the charge up. And this happened. This is the reality. Apart from the cost of purchasing natural gas, there are other costs that are included in the charge. For example, the transportation cost, cost of distribution to the consumer's meter, the supplier’s expenses, and financial deviations. The transportation costs have also increased," said the acting chairman of the Board of Directors of Moldovagaz.
From December 1, the charge for a cubic meter of gas is 16.74 lei, with VAT included, up 3.4 lei from the previous charge. The authorities said they will provide compensation to citizens to cope with the burden of bills. The compensation for November will be announced and paid in mid-December.
