Moldova’s natural gas tariff could increase again. Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu said a price hike is highly likely amid elevated prices on the European market, although the exact amount will be known at the beginning of October.
According to the minister, the European benchmark gas price recently exceeded €83 per megawatt-hour, equivalent to approximately $1,000 per 1,000 cubic meters of gas. At the start of trading, prices ranged between €80.6 and €81.5/MWh.
Junghietu attributed the price movements to several factors, including the continued disruption of liquefied natural gas deliveries from Qatar to the European market, competition for LNG between Europe and Asia, and the still relatively low level of gas storage in Europe. At the beginning of the day, the average level of gas storage across Europe stood at 68.3%, according to the minister.
Additional pressure is coming from Norway, Europe’s main pipeline gas supplier, where some production facilities are undergoing maintenance ahead of the cold season. Under these circumstances, the minister said the need to adjust the gas tariff for consumers in Moldova is becoming increasingly evident.
“The continuation of this market volatility (…) is making the need for a tariff adjustment increasingly evident,” Dorin Junghietu said.
However, the exact price consumers would pay following a potential adjustment is not yet known. The minister explained that a calculation methodology is in place, while the average purchase price for September will be made public at the beginning of October.
“At the beginning of October, we will present the average purchase price for September. It will then become clearer what this possible, potential tariff adjustment could be,” the minister explained.
Junghietu said gas is contracted in advance based on an indexed pricing formula, with the final value determined according to weighted average market prices from the previous month.
“Certainty will come once the average purchase price for September is known,” the energy minister said.
Thus, at the beginning of October, the authorities will have the necessary data to calculate the accumulated deviations for August and September and determine how much the gas tariff could potentially be adjusted.
The latest increase in Moldova’s natural gas tariff took effect on September 1, 2026. The decision was approved by the National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) on August 21, 2026.
Household consumers currently pay 20.30 lei per cubic meter, including VAT. The tariff increased by approximately 41%, or 5.88 lei, from the previous rate of 14.42 lei per cubic meter.