Measures to Protect Consumers and Maintain Fuel Supply

Consumers must be guaranteed that they receive exactly the amount of fuel they pay for, while fuel supplies must continue without interruption. With these two priorities in mind, the National Crisis Management Commission, convened today, adopted measures to address irregularities identified at certain petrolz stations, protect consumers and prevent disruptions in the fuel market.

Following inspections carried out by the State Inspectorate for the Supervision of Non-Food Products and Consumer Protection (ISSPNPC), non-compliant measuring systems were identified, which may generate errors in calculating the quantities of fuel delivered. To protect consumers, the authorities initiated legal proceedings to withdraw the certification of these systems, a measure upheld by the courts, including the Court of Appeal on 7 October 2026.

As a result, the use of these systems has been prohibited. The measure affects approximately 175 petrol stations, representing more than a quarter of all petrol stations in the Republic of Moldova and belonging to several economic operators.

At the same time, the simultaneous suspension of operations at such a large number of petrol stations could affect fuel supplies to the population and economic operators, including the supply of fuel to ambulances, the police and other essential public services.

To prevent these risks, the Commission decided to introduce a transitional solution allowing the affected petrol stations to continue operating, while requiring operators to remedy the identified irregularities and providing for penalties in cases of non-compliance.

Accordingly, economic operators are required to replace the non-compliant measuring systems within no more than 20 days. Failure to comply will result in the suspension of the petrol stations' operations until the issues are remedied.

To ensure that citizens know which petrol stations are affected, each economic operator is required to publish on its official website a list of petrol stations using measuring systems whose certification has been withdrawn.

It is important to note that the enforcement measures imposed on operators will not affect consumers. Maximum fuel prices remain capped in accordance with the current regulatory mechanism. Operators are required to resolve the issue urgently, ensuring that citizens can rely on the accuracy and legality of the systems used to measure the quantity of fuel purchased.

The Commission's decision does not annul court rulings or exempt operators from liability for the identified irregularities. Through the measures adopted, the state ensures the protection of consumer rights, requires operators to rectify the irregularities and prevents the risk of major disruptions to fuel supplies.