Moldova’s mechanism for providing heating compensation during the cold season will be revised, and the number of households receiving support could be higher than last year. Prime Minister Vasile Tofan made the announcement, saying the decision is driven by rising natural gas prices.
Tofan said the state spent between 2.5 billion and 3.5 billion lei annually on winter heating compensation in previous years. He explained that the authorities had initially planned to reduce the amount of compensation, but developments in gas prices have forced them to reconsider.
“We cannot afford to spend billions on compensation every year. At the same time, this winter, I have to admit that we will have to reconsider that initial decision and increase compensation compared with the original plans. We did not expect gas prices to be this high,” Vasile Tofan said.
The prime minister added that he is discussing the issue with the Ministry of Labour and Social Protection and the Ministry of Finance. The aim is to adjust the mechanism so that it can cover a larger number of households this year.
“Last year, we covered 620,000 households. I would have liked to reduce that number because we do not have the money, but I think that this year we must find the funds, wherever possible, to cover a larger number of households. The figure will probably be even higher than 620,000 because the coming winter will be more difficult than the previous one in terms of tariffs,” the prime minister said.
Tofan made the remarks in the context of the Government’s request to declare a state of emergency in the energy and hydrological sectors for 60 days.
Registration for this winter’s compensation program will begin on November 2. Financial support will cover the period from November 2026 through March 2027.