The Government will be obliged to take the necessary measures to ensure the use, by November 1 of each year, of natural gas storage capacity in storage facilities in other countries that are parties to the Energy Community and in EU member states. The storage capacity must represent at least 15% of the average annual gas consumption of final Moldovan customers connected to the gas networks of licensed system operators, determined for the previous five years. This is provided in a draft law that was given a final reading by Parliament, IPN reports.
According to the bill drafted by the Ministry of Energy, the Government is to identify a natural gas supplier or trader with experience in transactions and storage of natural gas and impose the obligation to store a certain amount of natural gas in underground storage facilities in other countries that are parties to the Energy Community and in EU member states. The amount of natural gas that is be stored will be determined by the executive.
By the Government’s decision, the storage obligation may be fully or partially replaced through an effort-sharing mechanism with one or more countries that are parties to the Energy Community or with EU member states that have gas storage facilities.
The document also contains provisions regarding the monitoring of compliance with certification requirements by the National Agency for Energy Regulation. There will be introduced the obligation for transmission system operators to ensure permanent bi-directional physical capacity on all cross-border interconnections with neighboring countries so as to ensure gas supply security.
The conditions in which final customers can continue to benefit from regulated prices for the supply of natural gas if they decide to change their supplier will be set down.
