EXPLAINER

Chișinău’s mayor requests compensation for rising energy costs

The increase in energy costs will lead to an additional expenditure of about 400 million lei (€20 mln) for the city of Chișinău, the mayor of the capital announced during the weekly City Hall meeting on January 20.

Ion Ceban stated that the local government will ask the national government to compensate for the increased costs of public lighting and public transport, totaling around 180 million lei. When asked for a comment, Government spokesperson Daniel Vodă did not respond to calls.

Given that the 2025 state budget law allocates 1,524,402.8 thousand lei for the Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund in the Government's reserve fund, the Chișinău City Hall will request compensation for at least some key services, specifically public transport and lighting, which would total nearly 180 million lei from state budget funds, said Ion Ceban.

It should be noted that, as of January 10, Moldovans are paying higher electricity prices. Consumers in central and southern Moldova are paying 4.1 lei/kWh, a 75% increase compared to the previous tariff, while those in the north are paying 4.68 lei/kWh, a rise of approximately 64%. Following the tariff hike, the government announced it would offer additional compensation for electricity to both households and businesses.

It should be noted that the energy price hikes were caused by the halt in electricity supply from the Cuciurgan Power Plant, as well as the need to diversify energy sources in this context.

Translation by Iurie Tataru

Ecaterina Arvintii

Ecaterina Arvintii

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