ANRE Chief: Gas Price Will Cause Chain Increase in Tariffs

Energy Regulatory Agency Director Octavian Calmic expects that the increase in the natural gas tariff will lead to an increase in other tariffs. According to the head of ANRE, the heating tariff may be revised upwards in December. Calmic notes that there are no prerequisites for an increase in the electricity tariff this year, since the current contract for the purchase of electricity is valid until the end of March 2022, ipn.md reports. The ANRE director says that the new gas tariff will severely affect citizens, the institution expects a massive non-payment of bills. According to Octavian Calmic, the experience of previous increases testifies to the fact that the rise in tariffs leads to an increasing amount of debts accumulated by citizens. “As tariffs increase, the amount of unpaid bills increases in direct proportion to them. Taking into account the current tariffs, we expect an increase in consumer debts. We will make a decision so that during the cold season it is impossible to disconnect all those consumers who do not fully pay their bills. Because now the regulations provide that non-payment of bills entails disconnection from gas networks. We will oblige operators not to do this during the cold season,” Octavian Calmic said on the air of the Punctul pe Azi program on TVR Moldova. According to the head of ANRE, the forecasts are not too optimistic, since the purchase price of gas entails a chain increase in prices. The tariff for thermal energy will increase next. “In December, we will be busy with tariffs for thermal energy, and then for electricity. We are entering an active period, many painful and possibly unpopular decisions will be made. Obviously, these will be price increases, given the increase in gas tariffs, since there is a direct link between the price of gas and the price of thermal energy. This will cause a chain reaction of increases, including tariffs for water and sewage. In terms of electricity, no changes are expected until March next year, because there are contractual obligations, and we believe that they will be respected,” said the director of ANRE. The day before, ANRE set a temporary tariff for November in the amount of 10.26 lei per 1 cubic meter of natural gas. VAT on gas in the amount of 8% is added to this amount, which means that citizens will pay a tariff of 11.08 lei on bills. The government announced today, November 10, a press conference at which the compensation system will be announced in connection with the increase in the gas tariff.