
Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund to be created in Moldova.
This is provided for in the corresponding draft law, adopted by the Parliament in the first reading at the initiative of the Government. The creation of the Fund is initiated in the context of the current energy crisis, the consequences of which are intensified by the COVID-19 crisis and the war in Ukraine. The Fund will be aimed at preventing and combating the population's energy vulnerability and improving energy efficiency. According to the draft law, for low-income consumers it will be set a monthly compensation for payment of bills for heat in the centralized system, for consumption of electricity and natural gas. It is also proposed to provide subsidies to improve energy efficiency and replace outdated household appliances with modern, more energy efficient ones. The Energy Vulnerability information system will be created to collect information on the parameters of energy vulnerability of household consumers and to manage the mechanism for granting subsidies. In order to receive monthly compensations, household energy consumers will be registered in the Energy Vulnerability Register, an electronic system managed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, which will allow accumulating the data necessary to classify consumers into one of the categories of vulnerable energy consumption. The classification of vulnerable consumers categories is based on a number of parameters that will be approved by the government: income, number of family members, share of energy expenses in domestic consumption, type of heating system used, etc. Sources of financing the Fund will be the state budget, European funding, and other external sources. Its size will be approved by the annual state budget law. According to preliminary calculations, about 1 billion lei will be needed to finance the Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund in 2023, and some external donors have already expressed their willingness to provide funding. The law on the Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund will take effect on September 1. // 18.07.2022- InfoMarket.