ANRE revokes Moldovagaz’s license for gas supply
"Moldovagaz," the joint-stock company and a subsidiary of the Russian concern "Gazprom," has had its license for natural gas supply revoked.
The decision was approved on Monday, August 4, by the National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE). According to ANRE, Moldovagaz failed to meet the unbundling conditions for natural gas production, transmission, and distribution activities, which were imposed in April, by the July 31 deadline.
ANRE’s decision is the culmination of a years-long effort by Moldovan authorities to ensure the separation and independence of the natural gas transmission infrastructure.
In July, Moldovagaz informed ANRE that it was unable to complete the unbundling, citing a lack of consensus among its majority shareholders and an overreach of the company's management's authority. In the same letter, Moldovagaz expressed its willingness to cooperate with the new supplier, Energocom, which has been assigned the public service obligations.
Additionally, considering that the process of ending Moldovagaz’s activities and transferring over 800,000 consumers to Energocom represents a singular challenge for all parties involved, the agency decided that the actual switch of suppliers will occur on September 1.
To that end, ANRE has required Moldovagaz and Energocom to take all necessary organizational steps by the end of August, ensuring that the natural gas supply to end consumers is not disrupted.
The general director of SA "Moldovagaz," Vadim Ceban, stated in a social media post that the institution has taken note of ANRE's decision, and both companies will soon publish information on the consumer billing procedure.
It's worth recalling that in April, ANRE had required Moldovagaz to complete the unbundling of natural gas transmission and supply activities by July 31, 2025, one year and two months ahead of the original deadline of September 30, 2026. The measure was approved in the context of implementing the Third Energy Package, which mandates the unbundling of natural gas production, transmission, and distribution activities.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
