Electricity for Moldova to get dearer while lacking Russian supplies

Halting electric power supplies to Moldova by Russia will lead to rise in price per 1 kWh to minimum 3 cents. The chairman of the Energy Consumers Association (ACE), Nicolae Mogoreanu, shares this opinion. Previously, RM imported Russian energy with 2 cents/kWh and the Ukrainian with 2,5 cents/kWh. According to him, this increase was predictable, and would occur sooner or later. „Now Moldova has to negotiate with Ukraine regarding the raising of the imported electric power volume, but I think that its price will be of 3 cents/kWh the lowest,” Mogoreanu noted. ACE chairman mentioned that, even if the price to electricity purchased by Union Fenosa Group in Moldova has reduced, after halting supplies from Cuciurgan Power Plant, from 3.5 cents/kWh to 2.5 cents/kWh, the tariff to electric power for final consumers is the same. „Taking into consideration this profitable difference, the National Agency for Energy Regulations (ANRE) might, without any problem, set for UF a tariff of 3 cents/kWh,” Nicolae Mogoreanu underlined. Sources from ANRE mentioned that for the moment there is no reason to increase the electric power tariffs for consumers. At their turn, the representatives of Union Fenosa Group said that they will comment upon these affirmations very soon. Power imports from Russia to Moldova were suspended at the end of May, at the termination of the contract between the Company "Ukrinterenergo" and "Inter RAO EES". In order to continue this collaboration, the parts are to come to an agreement upon the transit prices, but they will be set only when the financial plan for 2006 of "Ukrinterenergo” is approved. In 2005, "Ukrinterenergo" has delivered electric power from Russia to RM of about 0,8 billion kWh. The volume of electric power from Russia was half of the energy imports of RM, other 50% being imported from Ukraine. At the moment, Russian electric power imports are compensated with the Ukrainian ones.