ANRE Head Responds to Resignation Question: “The Pressure Is Enormous”

Protests, public criticism of the National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) and calls for its leadership to resign are putting pressure on the institution’s management, ANRE Director General Alexei Taran has said. At the same time, the official noted that the agency’s leadership is responsible for explaining its decisions and ensuring transparency in its work. He made the remarks on the Pe față program on Teleradio Moldova, agora.md reports. Asked whether he had considered resigning amid protests in which demonstrators called, among other things, for ANRE’s leadership to step down, Taran acknowledged that the pressure was considerable but did not say whether he intended to resign. “When you hear those chants and read all those statements in the news, it really is difficult and stressful. The pressure is enormous. At the same time, our job is to explain our decisions, remain objective and stay at our posts,” Alexei Taran said. According to Taran, ANRE must publicly explain the decisions it makes and provide the arguments underpinning them. “Our goal and responsibility are to ensure genuine transparency and objectivity,” the ANRE director stressed. In this context, the official reiterated his view that energy prices depend not only on developments in Moldova but also on changes in international markets. ANRE is the institution responsible for regulating Moldova’s energy market. It approves regulated tariffs for natural gas, electricity and heating, and sets maximum prices for certain petroleum products. On September 28, ANRE approved new gas tariffs, which took effect on October 1. Household consumers will therefore pay 26.14 lei per cubic meter of gas. The decision was made amid protests outside the agency’s headquarters, attended by representatives of several opposition political groups. Demonstrators also demanded the resignation of ANRE’s leadership.