CHIŞINĂU (Imedia) -  The National Agency for Energy Regulation (NAER) said that it would revise fees for gas and heating this week after Russian gas giant Gazprom hiked up prices for gas delivered to Moldova by 8.8 percent and after suppliers asked for prices to be increased.  

NAER posted a decision project on its website, according to which natural gas fees for final consumers would go up 13.9 percent and heating bills would go up 20.6 percent.

Businesses will pay 15.8 percent more for gas (4,853 lei, or 388 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters). Consumers will, on the other hand, pay 11.6 percent more (4,210 lei per 1,000 cubic meters). Heating bills - at 843 lei per gigacalorie - will reach a level predicted by some experts two or three years ago, including the current NAER director.

After natural gas, electricity, and heating fees went up mid-January 2010, the National Bank of Moldova (NBM) called the hikes a „temporary shock."

„Whereas the 16.5-percent hike in bills was a shock for consumers, however 'temporary,' will the 14-percent hike have another effect?" experts ask. Authorities have said that they have no money to pay subsidies for poor families after the April hikes. A lot of people have not even received the promised assistance - 390 lei for three months - after the January increases in bills.

As a result, out of about 67,000 public servants with salaries smaller than 700 lei (about 70 dollars), only 3,500 people have shown up to get their assistance, said Labor and Social Protection Minister Valentina Buliga on April 15. It is unclear how many people actually received this help. Bills for January were paid two months ago, the ones for February one month ago, and people are still paying their March bills.

The most pessimistic fears have been confirmed, compensations were set late, and the Government has an excuse: it did not have money at the right time, and bureaucratic formalities delayed assistance considerably.

Ion Preasca, an expert and former editor-in-chief of Energia, says, however, that fee hikes will not affect consumers much in the spring and the fall, especially because the heating system is over and because gas consumption falls three or four times in April-September. „It will get much tougher in the winter, especially because gas prices could go up even more," Mr. Preasca adds.

NAER predicts that in the first trimester of 2010, gas import prices reached 231.63 U.S. dollars per 1,000 cubic meters, 252 dollars in the second trimester, 257.28 in the third trimester, and 268.64 in the last trimester. Prices could be even higher at the end of the year, however.

Gas and heating bill hikes could lead to a general price increase, especially since petrol importers have hiked up petrol and diesel prices by 50 and 40 bani, respectively. As a result, public transportation in Balti is not 50 bani more expensive per trip. Drivers in Chisinau are expected to ask for similar increases in the city. A higher fee hike for businesses, who are usually connected to medium- and high-pressure pipes (as a result of which gas delivery prices are smaller than in the case of household consumers), could determine them to hike prices, as well.

Along with the social effects these price hikes will have, price increases will lead to political consequences because of upcoming early legislative elections. Some people who say that one's attitude to the ruling group goes through one's pocket could be right. When one's pockets are empty, feelings of affection for rulers may disappear.