The Republic of Moldova is entering a period when there will be more gas suppliers and different prices for consumers, said Minister of Energy Victor Parlicov. According to him, Moldova no longer depends on the gas provided by Gazprom and the free market offers lower gas prices to citizens. For May, Energocom managed to buy gas from the international market at a lower price than the price offered by the Russian company, IPN reports.
Minister Victor Parlicov noted that the period when there was only one gas supplier in Moldova is over, and with the appearance on the market of more suppliers, prices will become competitive and consumers will benefit from the best charges.
“We are moving to a new era. We come from the era when there was only one supplier, one price. We are moving to the stage when there will be many suppliers and many different prices, fewer consumers who have regulated prices and more consumers who have prices negotiated on the free market. Everyone can negotiate. We now have de facto liberalization of the market. From January 1, there are no more bans on the issuance of licenses. New licenses are issued. Large suppliers are coming, international suppliers are coming. What we want to demonstrate is the benefit of the free market compared to a fixed price,” Victor Parlicov stated in the talk show “In the Context” on Moldova 1 public television.
According to the minister, Moldova got rid of dependence on Russian gas, and the possibility to buy gas from the international market offers consumers lower prices than that offered by Gazprom. For several consecutive months, Energocom has bought gas on the international market at a lower price than the price offered by Russia.
“There is a myth that the cheapest gas in Moldova comes from Gazprom. The tender for May was won by Energocom with a price below Gazprom’s price. Not by much, but it’s a lower price. In April Energocom managed to buy gas from the international market at a price that is by 20% lower than Gazprom’s price. We are now creating preconditions for as many suppliers as possible to appear and go to consumers. But they will not look for household consumers because they are looking primarily for large, industrial consumers with whom to have a single contract to manage flows of tens of millions of lei. Whereas in the case of household consumers, one needs to have thousands of consumers to reach a particular flow of money. But we want to prove that a liberalized market, a market where more players participate will give a better price than Gazprom’s price,” said the minister.
On April 26, Moldovagaz requested the National Agency for Energy Regulation to decrease the gas charge by 9.3%. Currently, household consumers pay a gas charge of 13.39 lei per cubic meter.
