ANRE chief Alexei Taran criticises consumers for not switching electricity suppliers
Alexei Taran, head of Moldova’s National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE), has found someone to blame for the lack of activity in the electricity market: ordinary consumers.
With electricity prices in Moldova potentially set to rise by another 30%, the regulator has criticised households for failing to take advantage of the liberalised market and search for cheaper suppliers. Yet, during the same television interview, Taran admitted that he had never switched electricity suppliers himself.
Speaking on N4 television, the head of ANRE discussed the advantages of the free electricity market. He explained that household consumers have the right to leave their existing supplier, which provides electricity at a regulated tariff, and sign a contract with another company offering more favourable terms.
According to Taran, however, only around 200 households have exercised this option. He had a rather unexpected description for everyone else.
“At the moment, we have, well, household consumers who are generally what we call ‘lazy consumers’, who are not necessarily very active in looking for suppliers or negotiating prices.”
The conversation took an amusing turn when the presenter asked whether Taran himself had switched electricity suppliers. His answer was no.
“I consider myself a lazy consumer, but, to be honest, no… You’re satisfied with the tariff set by ANRE, and you stick with it… Because ANRE approves that tariff. You know, when I take part in approving that tariff, I want to show that it’s a fair tariff, and I pay the same tariff myself.”
The regulator’s reasoning is difficult to follow. He sees no reason to change suppliers because he considers the tariff he helps approve to be fair. Yet he describes other Moldovans who make exactly the same choice as “lazy”.
If the regulated tariff is so reasonable, why should the overwhelming majority of consumers abandon it and spend their time searching for an alternative?
Moldova electricity tariffs could rise by more than 30%
The remarks come at a particularly awkward moment, as Moldova faces another potential increase in electricity prices. In early November, Premier Energy and FEE-Nord submitted applications to ANRE requesting tariff increases of more than 30%.
For customers of Premier Energy, which supplies central and southern Moldova, the price could increase from 3.56 to 4.64 lei per kilowatt-hour. In the north, customers of FEE-Nord could see their tariff rise from 3.95 to 5.17 lei per kilowatt-hour.
Both suppliers attribute their requests to higher electricity procurement costs. ANRE, headed by Taran, is currently reviewing the applications, and the proposed increases have not yet been approved. The irony is that while consumers are being encouraged to seek cheaper electricity on the open market, the suppliers serving most households are asking the regulator to approve substantially higher prices.
Opposition politicians have already criticised the situation, accusing the authorities of shifting the financial burden onto citizens without providing clear explanations of electricity purchasing costs. Our Party MP Constantin Cuiumju highlighted the difference between the government’s technical explanations and the reality facing ordinary families.
“For them, it’s procurement prices, formulas and percentages. But for a family… the bills will be even higher.”
For households already struggling with rising living costs, the prospect of another 30% increase is hardly a minor inconvenience.
And being told by the country’s chief energy regulator that they are “lazy” for not switching suppliers is unlikely to make the situation any easier. Especially when the same official admits that he has never bothered to switch either.
