MOLDOVAGAZ HEAD REGARDS REDUCTION OF GAS SUPPLIES TO TRANSNISTRIA AS FOUNDED

Moldovagaz Company President Vadim Ceban regards as founded the reduction of gas supplies to the Transnistrian region in the current conditions when the Russian Gazprom Concern has almost halved its gas delivery to Moldova. Ceban wrote this in social networks on Thursday morning, after the Transnistrian administration had accused the Moldovan authorities of “capturing the gas intended for the Transnistrian region”.

He reminded that after reducing the volume of gas supply by Gazprom from October 1, TiraspolTransGaz proposed the following: out of 171 million cubic meters of incoming Russian gas, 119 millions should be transferred to the Transnistrian region, and only 52 million cubic meters to the rest of the Republic of Moldova.

“Obviously, the plan pursued the goal of a 100% provision of Transnistrian consumers with natural gas and electricity – against the backdrop of an acute shortage of energy in the rest of Moldova,” Ceban wrote.

He called such a plan “discriminatory in relation to consumers on the right bank of the Dniester [mainland Moldova], who regularly and timely pay to Moldovagaz for gas supplies, and also ensure the fulfillment of the central authorities’ request to economize on the fuel in the face of the energy shortage.”

Ceban reminded that the level payments to Gazprom provided by Moldovagaz this year is standing at 100%, while by TiraspolTransGaz - only 0.05%; the gas tariff paid by ultimate consumers in mainland Moldova is 29.27 lei per a cubic meter, while Transnistria residents pay merely 0.99 to 1.37 lei; the number of consumers served on the right Dniester bank is 770 thousand households and 15.5 thousand organizations, against 206 thousand and 2.5 thousand in Transnistria, respectively.

Since October 1, Gazprom has reduced the volume of gas supplied to Moldova to 5.7 million cubic meters per day. In November, this constitutes only 51% of actual needs, and in December this will be 43.5%. At the same time, Moldovagaz is supplying 40% of the received gas volume to Transnistria in November.