Moldova's opposition protests against gas tariff increases

CHIȘINĂU, July 24 /MOLDPRES/ - Parliament Speaker Igor Grosu has reacted to the protest organized today by parliamentary opposition parties against the increase in natural gas tariffs. Grosu said that he would have more confidence in their initiative if, in addition to criticism, they also presented concrete solutions for reducing costs.

“I would believe in the sincerity of the opposition in this initiative, if they came up with some sound proposals. The price component is made up of two dimensions: the purchase price, which we do not dictate, because we import gas, and the internal administrative costs. For the first component you can hardly intervene, since we depend on the market and regional developments,” Grosu said.

According to the speaker, a genuine debate should focus on the internal expenses included in the tariff. He specified that roughly three lei of the cost of one cubic meter of gas represent distribution and administrative expenses and suggested that they could be reviewed, in order to identify possible savings.

Igor Grosu stated that, if the opposition truly wants to reduce tariffs, it should also propose measures to cut the internal expenses of companies in the gas sector, including capping the salaries of management.

“If they came and said: let’s cap salaries, whether it’s Energocom, Moldovagaz or other companies, then I would understand. From the data I have, the director of Moldovagaz has a salary of about 400,000 lei per month, and the deputy directors  - about 300,000 lei per month. Even the general director’s assistant has a salary of around 83,000 lei per month. Until then, I am sorry, but this is mostly politics,” Grosu said.

More opposition parties today protested outside the headquarters of the National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE) against the increase in natural gas prices and called for early parliamentary elections. The demonstration was attended by representatives of the Party of Development and Consolidation of Moldova (PDCM), the National Alternative Movement (MAN), the Party of Socialists (PSRM) and the Party of Communists (PCRM).

The PDCM leader, Ion Chicu, argued that the authorities were passing administrative expenses and exaggerated salaries onto consumers.

“We do not want people to keep paying for the hefty salaries of these officials. They did not take care to buy cheap gas when the time was right, and now they are asking for a tariff that is 45 per cent higher. We demand that luxury expenses and million-lei salaries be eliminated, not that the invoices for schools, hospitals and citizens be increased,” Chicu said.

On July 15, Energocom submitted to ANRE a request to increase the natural gas tariff to 19 lei and 37 bani per one cubic meter, without value added tax (VAT). Subsequently, ANRE proposed a tariff of 18 lei and 79 bani per cubic meter, without VAT, compared to the current tariff of 13 lei and 35 bani. The final decision on the new tariff is to be adopted by ANRE’s Board of Directors.