The gas tariffs for Moldovan end-consumers may decrease by the end of the year, if the contract with Gazprom is preserved - Andrei Spinu.
Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development of Moldova said this on the air of TV8 TV channel, noting that the gas purchase price for Moldova could decrease in the following months if the downward trend of spot gas prices continues. The fourth quarter will also change the ratio between important components of the formula defining the gas price for Moldova: pegging to oil prices and pegging to gas quotations on the gas exchange, which change in winter and summer at a ratio of 70% to 30% and vice versa. The pegging component to oil will make 70% in winter and 30% to the spot gas prices. According to Andrei Spinu, if the contract with Gazprom is kept in winter, there could be a reduction in the gas tariff for final consumers. He noted that the authorities are well aware that the recently increased tariffs for gas and electricity are extremely high for citizens and will strive to reduce them. "Tariffs have increased, and we are very well aware that for many citizens these tariffs are excessively large. Of course, we, as authorities, would like to see tariffs not go up more, and we are constantly looking for solutions and opportunities to buy both electricity and gas at lower prices. But at the same time, this war in neighboring Ukraine has distorted a lot the situation at the global level in the field of energy, and the authorities can only promise that they will continue to look for the best price of energy resources for our citizens," said Andrei Spinu. He noted that the situation with the tariffs does not necessarily depend on the government, and they do not decide whether they will increase or decrease. "For example, we have managed to get a good average purchasing price of $66 per MWh for electric power for the last 2 months. As for gas, Moldova has the best offer on the market, just taking into account the high exchange prices at the moment we end up with a high gas price for many citizens. There is a lot of uncertainty in the market and it is very difficult to make any accurate forecasts. Last fall, we expected that gas prices would drop in summer, but they did not, because no one could foresee the outbreak of war in Ukraine on 24 February and now, in summer, gas is more expensive than last winter, a situation that has never happened before and all the specialists in the sector admit an unprecedented situation in the world in this field," Deputy Prime Minister said. As reported earlier, the gas tariff for household consumers in Moldova has been increased by 22.6 percent - from 15.18 to 18.62 lei per 1 cubic meter, VAT included. In particular, the tariff for natural gas at low-pressure gas distribution points (for residential consumers) was increased by 22.6% - from 14060 to 17244 lei per 1 thousand cubic meters (excluding VAT), or from 14.06 to 17.24 lei per 1 cubic meters (excluding VAT). At the same time, it rose from 15.18 to 18.62 lei per 1 cubic meter, including 8% VAT. ANRE representatives calculated new tariffs, taking into account the new average gas purchase price of $696 per 1,000 cubic meters instead of the previous $620.1. // 14.06.2022 – InfoMarket
