ANRE will initiate the certification procedure for the transport system operator and will decide how the natural gas transportation system in Moldova will be operated.
The National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE) reported this, noting that ensuring the separation and independence of gas transmission system operators from vertically integrated enterprises engaged in natural gas production, distribution, storage, trading or supply is one of the main tasks on the way to creating a liberalized natural gas market in Moldova. At the level of the European Union, this process of mandatory separation is known as unbundling. Thus, Moldovatransgaz, the operator of the natural gas transportation system, which is part of the integrated structure and vertically controlled by the supplier Moldovagaz, had to take all necessary measures to meet the requirements to ensure its independence. This could be achieved either by alienating the transportation networks or by transferring them to a third company unrelated to Moldovatransgaz structures or by ensuring real independence of Moldovatransgaz by the parent company, including by transferring ownership of the networks and ensuring independent management. According to ANRE, the national authorities, in close cooperation with the Energy Community Secretariat, made significant efforts to speed up the implementation of this obligation by both Moldovatransgaz and its founder, Moldovagaz, but all attempts were blocked every time by decisions of Gazprom, the majority shareholder. For these reasons, in 2022, the Parliament of Moldova set, by Law 249/2022, the deadline by which the gas transmission system operator must meet all the requirements for separation and independence and request ANRE certification, otherwise the certification procedure can be initiated by ANRE or at the request of the Energy Community Secretariat. "Therefore, following the recent statement of the management of JSC Moldovagaz, the National Energy Regulatory Agency should initiate the certification procedure and at the end of this process decide on how the natural gas transportation system in Moldova will be operated, based on the provisions of the applicable legal framework," the energy regulator stated. In this context, ANRE has assured all users of system services provided by Moldovatransgaz that the technical functionality of the entire gas system is not affected by the processes of separation and independence of operators, and all parties involved will act with maximum openness and responsibility. // 14.06.2023 – InfoMarket
