Moldovagaz president Vadim Ceban says there are no grounds to expect a downward revision of gas rates in April, as supply prices will stay high, plus the utility has incurred additional costs which it would need to recover.

“There are no prospects of lower rates. In January we paid around 630 dollars for the supplied gas, 567 dollars in February and 547 dollars in March. This is nearly half of the spot prices. In April the price formula will change and the price will be bigger, despite the fact that consumption will drop”, Ceban told a talk show on RliveTV.

He added that Moldovagaz has sustained additional expenses which need to be recovered now. “It would be a good idea if the gas cost compensation period was extended to cover April as well, but this is to be decided by the Government”.

Earlier, Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilița said that due to the war in Ukraine, foreign companies are reluctant to come to Moldova to audit Moldovagaz’s debts, which means that the results of the audit will not be ready on May 1, as agreed in the protocol signed with Gazprom. The failure to meet this deadline could lead the Russian company to suspend gas supplies to Moldova. Ceban says talks are already underway to persuade the Russian side to allow the term to be extended.

“It would be perfect if the deadline could be extended by 10-12 months to perform this audit, to clarify the amount of debts owed and to reach a consensus on debt rescheduling within a reasonable timeframe. Now we don’t need to focus on the audit, but on the debt settlement agreement. The only solution in this case, and we as the management have already proposed it to the shareholders, is to extend this deadline”, added Ceban.

Earlier, Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu said that if the Russian side decides to halt gas supplies for Moldova on May 1, the state company Energocom will be authorized to buy gas from alternative sources at market prices.