ANRE HAS TO REVISE GAS TARIFFS - IDIS

Expert of the Institute of Development and Social Initiatives (IDIS) "Viitorul" Veaceslav Ionita presented his research on Monday, maintaining that the National Energy Regulatory Agency has to revise the natural gas tariffs.

He pointed that despite the two-fold decline in world energy resource prices, Moldovan citizens did not feel any indulgences in the sum of paid tariffs.

According to him, one of factors that influenced the high tariff is the instability of the national currency, which fell to MDL20 per US$1 in 2016 from MDL13 : US$1 in 2014. However, he reminded that during the 2017, the Moldovan currency has been steadily strengthening, thus the main reason for the overstated tariff is the ANRE incompetent actions.

"The last time the agency established the price on gas in January 2016 in accordance with the rate of MDL21 : US$1, which led to considerable decline between the real and the approved prices on energy resources for the ultimate consumer", the expert said.

According to him, such a difference in 2017 accounted for 17%, which is 490 million lei in terms of money, thus the ANRE is obliged to revise and approve the new gas tariff, which will correspond to the current economic situation in the world and in Moldova.