OREANDA-NEWS After January 10, Moldova may face a shortage of electricity, as well as an increase in its value on the stock exchange, an increase in tariffs may lead to an economic collapse in the republic, said Alexander Slusar, a representative of civil society at Energocom.

The National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE) approved new tariffs for electricity and heat at a meeting on January 3. The electricity tariff for the center and south of the republic increased to 4.1 lei per kilowatt hour (about 22 cents), for the north - to 4.68 lei (about 25 cents). The cost of thermal energy has also increased. In the capital region, the tariff rose from 1,824 to 2,510 lei per gigacalory (about $139), in the north to 2,126 lei ($118), and in the south to 3,222 lei ($179). According to the decision of the Commission on emergency Situations, applications for an increase in energy tariffs are being considered urgently.

"After January 8-10, two big problems await us. All the holidays will be over, production will intensify in Romania, demand will increase, and in Ukraine too, we may face import problems and rising stock prices. We also need to wait for consumption growth after January 8, if stock prices start to rise, the average purchase price will rise, if we exceed the 140 euro price set by the regulator in the final tariff, and the tariff will be increased, then I fear an economic collapse," Slusar said on the Rlive TV channel.

According to him, there are also problems with logistics. There is a possibility that Chisinau may be forced to either resort to emergency contracts, adding another 100 euros to the already increased price, or to rolling outages of consumers, he believes.
"If we evaluate in general what awaits us in 2025, then I am not an optimist. Moldova is not economically ready for the price growth crisis. For four years, the authorities have been doing anything but economic development. People are not ready to pay such high tariffs. The economy will not be able to cope without help from the state," the expert explained.

A state of emergency in the energy sector has been introduced in Moldova since December 16. The Government of the Republic claims that this poses a risk of a humanitarian crisis in Transnistria. Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Rechan said earlier that the right bank of the Dniester River may face a shortage of electricity, since today 65-70% of the term is covered by the Moldovan GRES located on the territory of Transnistria. Purchasing electricity from other suppliers will inevitably lead to an increase in tariffs. Earlier on Wednesday, Energocom announced that in January it would meet Moldova's electricity needs through local production and imports from Romania.