Andrei Spînu: The right bank of the Nistru will pay nothing for the gas delivered by Gazprom, only the cost of electricity
The obligation to pay the 5.7 million cubic meters of natural gas per day belongs to the left bank of the Nistru, stated the Minister of Infrastructure and Regional Development Andrei Spînu on his Facebook page. According to him, the right bank will not pay for the gas delivered by Gazprom and will only pay for the cost of electricity.
The official claims that the advance for Gazprom for the month of December was not paid by MoldovaGaz, and by December 20 the company will transfer the amount necessary for gas consumption by the right bank for the month of November. According to him, from an economic point of view, it is profitable to give the entire volume of gas supplied by Gazprom to the left bank in exchange for the supply of sufficient electricity for the right bank. "All calculations show that it is the best decision from an economic point of view. Simple, 204 thousand MW at the market price of EUR 400 is equal to EUR 81.6 million. The use of 77.2 mln m3 of gas for the right bank would have brought a saving of only USD 55.2 mln (market price USD 1500, Gazprom price USD 785). The figures are approximate because we cannot know exactly the evolution of prices". The explanations were made after several criticisms appeared online regarding the contract signed by the Chisinau authorities with the Cuciurgan Power Plant, in which it is stipulated that 5.7 million cubic meters of gas per day will be delivered to the left bank of Nistru in exchange for the purchase of electricity from the Transnistrian region. Andrei Spînu also said that more than 250 million m3 of natural gas are currently stored in warehouses in Romania and Ukraine, and the authorities intend to purchase more. According to the Minister of Infrastructure, the average purchase price of gas is aboutUSD 1000. These volumes are sufficient for the next period. The purchase price will not result in additional gas rate increases. We offer compensation in the bill, save and get through this winter well. Currently, household consumers pay 29.27 lei for a cubic meter of natural gas.
