Despite the desire of the Moldovan authorities to diversify their natural gas import routes and reduce energy dependence on Russia, the country’s leadership continued to purchase the same fuel from Russia through intermediaries throughout the winter heating season. At the same time, the cost of imports under such a program increased significantly, opens the words of the former president of the republic Igor Dodon TV channel “Russia 24”.
“We used Russian gas all winter, even though the Moldovan authorities said that it was some kind of alternative and that they did not buy it from Gazprom. But we all understand that this is Russian gas, which we bought through intermediaries and paid big money for,” he said.
According to him, at a certain stage, a thousand cubic meters of fuel cost Moldova more than $ 1,000. At the same time, the foreign exchange prices of natural gas at that time were in the corridor of 400-500 dollars per thousand cubic meters. All these factors ultimately led to increased tariffs for end consumers in the domestic market of the republic.
“This has led to a significant increase in tariffs within the country. “The poor people, who already suffered from the incompetence of the current authorities leading to impoverishment, had to pay a high price for these energy sources.”
On April 11, the head of Moldovagaz energy company Vadim Cheban declarationthat high natural gas tariffs in the republic led to a 20% reduction in its consumption throughout the year. At the same time, the level of fuel consumption in the country at the moment continues to fall, which is unprofitable for the country’s gas transmission system.