Currently, in Moldova, meters are inspected every 4 years and every 8 years. The latter are installed in most apartments and small houses. The costs of inspecting them are included in distribution rates, so extending the inspection interval could reduce distribution operators’ expenses.
By comparison, in EU countries, meters are inspected once every 15 years. Moreover, the experience of distribution operators shows that a meter’s service life significantly exceeds the inspection interval, and discrepancies detected during inspections are extremely rare.
According to information from the Ministry of Energy, the issue was discussed with electricity and natural gas distribution system operators and the leadership of the National Energy Regulatory Agency (ANRE).
The Ministry of Energy’s analysis shows that extending the interval between metrological inspections, in line with European Union practice, could yield significant savings for distribution operators and consumers.
Representatives of the energy sector welcomed the initiative and confirmed that they have been promoting this approach for several years.
Premier Energy Distribution emphasized that the service life of a meter is approximately 18 years.
Meanwhile, RED-Nord noted that the cost of inspections reaches 5 million lei per year. And only about 5% of meters show deviations exceeding the permissible margin of error.
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