Moldovans worry about winter heating bills, government to introduce new compensations
As winter approaches, Moldovans are increasingly worried about their heating bills. Even though they are making savings, people say they are still waiting for the government's compensation this year. According to authorities, two new categories of vulnerability will be introduced to support households with very low incomes.
Elena Musteață is a cashier at a store. To cope with the bills during the cold months, the woman says she has to give up a lot. Meat is a luxury she can only afford once a month, and she won't connect to the heating system until December.
"We would give up some food items, we would try to buy the cheapest ones. We would go to the market, look for the cheapest meat. Potatoes, beans, and pasta were our priority. We would pay the gas bill this month, not next month, and pay the other bills. And to this day, I still have a debt on the gas bill," Musteață said.
"I would agree for the state to compensate to a large extent as it did last year. We cut from one side, put it here, and we manage."
"We hope it will be like it was last year to help us a little bit because it is very difficult. A little bit with the heat helped us a lot. It's always like that here, you give up something because you have to pay the bills."
"Of course, the compensations helped us a lot, but if we have to pay more, we won't be able to manage. A way out of the situation is to go to the village where we have a house on the ground."
Even though they benefited from compensation last year, some citizens say they were not satisfied, and today they are more pessimistic.
"I don't think it will be better than last year, it will be worse. - Did you benefit from compensation? - Yes, last year. - How was it? - It was okay. If you have a pension of 2,000 lei, you certainly can't do anything with them."
"- It was bad. - Why? - Because I paid more than I was paying. It won't be cheaper."
According to the Government, this year, the most vulnerable households will receive higher compensations. Two new categories of energy vulnerability have also been established: primary and maximum. In addition, an energy compensation in the form of a monetary payment will be introduced. In this regard, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the modification of the concept of the "Energy Vulnerability" information system.
"We have gone the way of developing a series of programs, Eco-Voucher is one of them. It is an additional program. At the moment, it is being implemented in a pilot mode. The selection of beneficiary households will be made from the database of the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, from there the most vulnerable households will be taken," said Energy Minister Victor Parlicov.
Over 760,000 households in the Republic of Moldova benefited from compensations for electricity, heat, and natural gas during the 2022-2023 heating season, and compensations in the amount of over 3,400 million lei were paid.
Translation by Iurie Tataru
