The government will provide state guarantees for an external loan worth up to 400 million euros, contracted by Energocom from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. The announcement was made by the Vice President of the Parliamentary Economic, Budget, and Finance Committee, Dorian Istratii, on the show Rezoomat, on RliveTV.
The MP declared that the funds will be used for the procurement of natural gas within the project “Strengthening Energy Security in the Republic of Moldova”, with the loan being granted for a term of 5 years, IPN reports.
“As Energocom needed to have a certain volume of liquidity in order to purchase natural gas, they had to obtain the necessary funds from somewhere. First, they buy gas from the market, and then sell it to citizens. Therefore, they need to have the means to purchase this gas. This will be done with the help of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development EBRD, but the EBRD is considering whether this enterprise will continue to have a future, and is worried about it. This is why the government of the Republic of Moldova steps in, guaranteeing and stating that Energocom will buy gas for citizens, and everything will be done fairly,” explained Istratii.
The parliamentarian emphasized that there are no risks for citizens to not be able to pay their natural gas bills, as the collection rate is consistently high.
“There cannot be a situation where Energocom cannot repay the loan, because Energocom receives funds from citizens. Energocom collects money from natural gas consumers. As far as we know, 95% of the money for gas is collected without problems every month. Therefore, there cannot be any issues with non-payment for natural gas,” said the deputy.
According to the project’s information note, the credit will be offered in three installments in the form of a revolving loan: installment I – 170 million euros, installment II – 80 million euros, and installment III – 50 million euros.
