The approximately 800 million lei profit reported by Energocom for 2024 does not fully reflect the company’s commercial earnings. Around 620 million lei came from grants provided to cover losses incurred in 2023, when the state-owned energy company purchased natural gas at high prices, according to Alexandru Ursu, head of Moldova’s National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE).
“In 2024, you are absolutely right, Energocom recorded a profit of 800 million lei. But we have to subtract 32 million euros, or around 620 million lei, from this profit, which were grants approved in 2024 to compensate for the losses from 2023,” Ursu said.
According to the ANRE director, Energocom recorded losses of more than 500 million lei in 2023 related to the cost of natural gas. The situation was partly caused by a decision of the Commission for Exceptional Situations, which required the company to sell gas at a lower price than the price at which it had purchased it, Bani.md reports.
“There was a decision by the Commission for Exceptional Situations that obliged Energocom to sell the gas at a price lower than the purchase price. Therefore, that grant is nothing other than compensation for the expenses or losses incurred in 2023,” Ursu explained.
As a result, if approximately 600-620 million lei in grants are deducted from the roughly 800 million lei reported as profit, the company’s profit from its actual operations would amount to around 200 million lei.
Ursu said this figure should be assessed in the context of the scale of Energocom’s operations. The company operates in natural gas and electricity trading and also serves as Moldova’s central electricity supplier.
According to the ANRE head, Energocom’s turnover amounted to approximately 10 billion lei in the electricity sector and another 10 billion lei in the natural gas sector.
“If we consider all three activities, with turnovers of 10 billion lei in electricity and 10 billion lei in natural gas, a profit of 200 million lei is quite reasonable,” Alexandru Ursu said.