OREANDA-NEWS. March 29, 2013. In 2013 and in the first quarter of 2014, Moldova will import electric energy at the current price of 6.9 cents per one kw/hour, acting Deputy Premier, Economics Minister Valeriu Lazar said during a news conference.

“I don’t think that the rates for end consumers, including households, will increase,” Lazar said.

The Ukrainian DTEK Power Trade Company requested a price of 7.1 cents/kwh for the power supplied to Moldova, whereas the offer of the Cuciurgan Power Plant, which is owned by the Russian Inter RAO EES, has not been made public yet.

“We managed to set partnership relations with Ukraine and Russia. We can announce that Moldova will be fully provided with electricity from three sources. The power supply scheme gives us the feeling of safety. It was managed to maintain the price and we will not increase it,” Lazar said.

He said that the new contracts on power supply for one year were to be concluded today. Moldova’s electricity needs are ensured at 30 per cent of its own resources, 20 per cent of imports from Ukraine and 50 per cent of supplies from the Cuciurgan Power Plant. “We managed to negotiate a price below the average price on the Ukrainian market, where it reached 8-9 cents per kwh,” he also said.

The contract signed in 2012 expires on 31 March. In 2012, after long negotiations, Moldova’s power providers had accepted to increase the import price by 13.1 per cent, from 6.1 to 6.9 cents per kwh.

The Ukrainian power supplies to Moldova have been carried out by the DTEK Power Trade Company since 1 April 2011. The company is part of Ukraine's leading private energy company DTEK, owned by tycoon Rinat Ahmetov.

The Ukrainian imports are carried out via the Energocom state-owned enterprise and cover the consumption in the northern and northwestern regions of the country, which are supplied by RED Nord and RED Nord-Vest. Fenosa Natural Gas Group imports electricity from the Cuciurgan Power Plant.