Pipelines of the national gas distribution network in MoldovaCHISINAU, Jan 28The former prime minister of Moldova, Ion Chicu, believes that the decision to increase the gas tariff in Moldova was made retroactively, which contradicts local legislation, so consumers must pay for fuel at the old prices. The National Energy Regulatory Agency of Moldova (ANRE) approved the gas tariff increase for household consumers from 569 to 785 dollars per thousand cubic meters. At the request of Moldovagaz, the tariff came into force retroactively from January 1.The President of Moldova called the condition for buying gas from another supplier «ANRE today made an illegal decision to increase the gas tariff retroactively, i.e. with the application of the new tariff from January 1, 2022 — this is a gross violation of existing legislation. A complete boycott of illegally approved We will pay for the gas consumed in January at the existing tariff,» Chicu wrote in his Telegram channel. He explained that the decisions made by ANRE are normative acts and cannot be made retroactively. The former prime minister recalled that in December 2019, the agency decided to raise the gas tariff retroactively. It was canceled by the Supreme Court of Justice. Gazprom and Moldovagaz on October 29, after lengthy negotiations, extended the gas supply contract for a period of 5 years, starting from November 1. «Gazprom» said that, taking into account the situation in Moldova, it was decided to sign the contract practically on the terms of the Moldovan side, but subject to timely 100% payment of current payments. In November, the republic had problems with the transfer of payments on time, a delay was needed. In January, «Moldovagaz» again faced difficulties in repaying the payment to «Gazprom», the parliament introduced a state of emergency for 60 days. The representative of «Gazprom» Sergey Kupriyanov expressed fears that the crisis of non-payments may repeat in the future.
