CHISINAU, November 25 The authorities of Moldova are illegally preventing gas supplies to Gagauzia at an affordable price, the head of the autonomy Evgenia Gutsul said in her Telegram channel.
Earlier, Gutsul reported that the autonomy, through a licensed Moldovan gas supply operator, had entered into an agreement with a Turkish company and would receive gas at a lower price than the rest of Moldova — at a tariff of 10 lei (56 cents) per cubic meter of fuel. The Moldovan company NordGaz Furnizare has confirmed the signing of a long-term contract with a Turkish gas supplier for consumers of the Gagauz Autonomous Republic of Moldova at the best price. Moldovan Energy Minister Victor Parlicov called the contract unrealistic, but Hutsul assured that residents of the autonomy can already change their gas supplier.
«Why is Maia Sandu (the President of Moldova — ed.) preventing the supply of gas to Gagauzia at an affordable price? Today this issue worries almost every family in our autonomy… The actions of Maia Sandu and the PAS government (the ruling party «Action and Solidarity» — ed.) are not are simply illegal: this government deprives tens of thousands of families of hope of surviving this winter without debt and in warmth,” Hutsul wrote.
According to her, more than 17 million cubic meters of natural gas have already been purchased from the Republic of Turkey and are temporarily stored in Ukraine in the underground storage facilities of Ukrtransgaz JSC. Nordgaz Furnizare is ready to supply this entire volume of natural gas to social institutions and household consumers in Gagauzia, in the Taraclia and Orhei regions at affordable prices, significantly lower than the tariffs set by the National Energy Regulatory Agency of Moldova (ANRE).
«However, the company JSC Moldovagaz and its subsidiary LLC Gagauzgaz, in particular, are preventing gas supplies to end consumers, citing bureaucratic difficulties. Unfortunately, the Moldovan authorities and the gas monopolist have joined forces to ensure that gas The monopoly of Moldovagaz JSC remained on the country's market, Gutsul emphasized.
There is a state of emergency in Moldova, declared, among other things, due to the energy crisis amid problems with gas shortages and a sharp rise in prices for energy resources. Since December last year, the Moldovagaz enterprise has been receiving gas from two sources — from the state enterprise Energocom and the Russian Gazprom. Russian gas is sent to Transnistria, and the rest of Moldova uses gas from accumulated reserves (more than 200 million cubic meters).
In October 2021, the Moldovan authorities agreed with Gazprom to extend the contract for gas supplies to the republic, subject to an audit of the Moldovagaz company’s debt in 2022. Gazprom reported that it reserves the right to completely stop gas supplies to Moldova due to a gross violation of the deadlines for concluding an agreement to settle the historical debt of Moldovagaz.