Parliamentary hearings: 80% of gas needed for winter season secured, purchases for February and March currently being made

Chisinau, Dec. 3. /MOLDPRES/- Joint-stock company Moldovagaz management has announced that 80% of the required gas for the winter season is secured. Currently, the institution is at the stage of purchasing gas volumes for February and March 2025. Market analysis shows that there are no premises for a decrease in gas prices in the next period. In this situation, the authorities give assurances that citizens will continue to receive compensation to mitigate the impact of the increase in energy tariffs.

Public hearings were held in Parliament today on gas tariff increase and its impact on consumers and national economy.

During the talks, Moldovagaz head Vadim Ceban stressed that about 725 million cubic meters of natural gas are needed to ensure gas consumption for the cold season, from October to March.

"So far, 563 million cubic meters of gas have been purchased, about 80%, and another 163.4 million cubic meters of gas needed for February and March are under procurement. Since May this year, tenders for the procurement of natural gas have been conducted on BRM East Energy platform. At the moment, the market is very volatile, because the consumption has increased in Europe," Vadim Ceban said.

Moldovagaz management emphasized that the massive purchases for the cold season started in July, when the quotations on TTF (European natural gas exchange) were the lowest. "In May there were not enough volumes for purchases and there were no offers. Purchases started in July. At certain times we have had bids with a cost higher than the set ceiling. In October there were good price signals, and in November costs increased in the market by about 25%. Costs are set at the exchanges, we cannot influence them," he said.

Energocom's acting director Victor Bînzari said that the company has relations with more than 20 large companies and traders in the region.

During the hearings, director of the National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE) Alexei Taran said that the institution has updated the regulatory framework in order to open the market and attract new players.

The ANRE director also said that price increases at the international level have been influenced by certain ad-hoc political events. "In this period, situations of falling prices are very unlikely. Another factor is that the current cold season started earlier, so the consumption rate is very high in the EU as well," Alexei Taran said.

Present at the hearings, Energy Minister Victor Parlicov explained how the gas procurement process is conducted.

"At present, the market is functioning in normal mechanisms. The Energy Ministry does not buy and sell natural gas. The institution is developing policies and we are making good progress in this respect. Gas trading is handled by the companies. We have meetings and discussions with them, we monitor the market. Our country does not have its own gas. It is sourced from the international market, which the companies take care of. The government and the ministry are doing their work at the political level and are concerned about compensating tariff increases for vulnerable consumers," said Parlicov.

The public hearings were moderated by MP Radu Marian, chairman of the parliamentary committee on economy, budget and finance. He said that the topic of natural gas is an extremely important one and needs to be discussed in a broader format.

He also announced an action plan for the next 60 days to be carried out by key institutions in the energy sector. Thus, gas suppliers have been asked to draw up a plan for diversification of sources and a 12-month gas procurement program for consumers. The Energy Ministry is also being asked to identify more strategic suppliers.

ANRE approved higher gas tariffs last week. Citizens will have to pay 15.50 lei (excluding VAT) for a cubic meter of gas, up by 3.35 lei than now. The new tariffs were approved after Moldovagaz submitted a few days ago to ANRE a request for a price adjustment, arguing that the decision was based on "considerable price increases on the international market".

SA Moldovagaz had requested a price of 16.17 lei (excluding VAT), up by 33.1 percent than at present, while ANRE approved a price of 15.50 lei, by 0.67 lei less than the company had requested. The new tariffs came into force on 1 December.