Moldova: register now to benefit from EU-backed energy compensation programme

Starting on 1 November, household consumers in Moldova can enrol in the “Ajutor la contor” programme to receive compensation on their natural gas, heat, electricity, and solid fuel bills for the cold season (November-March).

To benefit from compensation, consumers need to register on the compensatii.gov.md platform. To qualify for energy compensation, consumers must complete the online application by 25 November 2023, regardless of whether they registered or not in the information system last year.

The European Union has contributed almost 1.5 billion lei through direct budget support to the capitalisation of the Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund managing the programme.  

Minister of Labour and Social Protection Alexei Buzu explained the programme: “This year, we will have two types of compensation: compensation on bills and compensation in the form of a monthly cash payment, granted to households that heat with firewood and coal. In order to benefit from compensation, all households must register on the compensation platform, whether or not they registered last year. The registration process is very simple and takes about 15 minutes.” 

“For the second year in a row, the EU is supporting the Government to help vulnerable households receive energy compensation during the cold season,” said Janis Mazeiks, EU Ambassador to the Republic of Moldova. “At the same time, we encourage investments in the energy efficiency of buildings and houses. In the long run, this will reduce the bills and increase the well-being of Moldovans.”

People who do not have access to the Internet or have difficulty registering on the platform, will this year also be able to contact social workers or local librarians. They will also be able to address a call centre available for questions related to the registration process. The call centre was established with the support of the “Addressing the impacts of the energy crisis in the Republic of Moldova” programme, financed by the European Union and implemented by UNDP Moldova, which also contributed to the creation of the Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund and the mobilisation of resources for compensation.

Compensation will be allocated for seven categories of energy vulnerability. The category is assigned automatically by the information system on the basis of parameters including income, number of family members, share of energy expenditure in the family energy budget, type of heating system used, etc.

A detailed FAQ is available on the platform to answer questions about the scheme.

The Energy Vulnerability Fund was created in 2022 by the Government of the Republic of Moldova, with the support of the European Union, Slovakia and UNDP, in order to alleviate energy poverty, aggravated by multiple crises.

In the 2022-2023 heating season, approximately 895,000 households benefited from on-bill compensations. According to the UNDP impact assessment of the Fund, the compensations reduced the level of energy poverty by 43% and had the greatest impact on the most vulnerable families; 57% of natural gas bill costs and 59% of the costs of heating bills were compensated.

UNDP and the European Union, as well as other development partners, will continue to provide support in the 2023-2024 heating season for the operationalisation of the Fund.

Find out more

Press release

Energy compensation platform