As of 4 November, household consumers can register for the government program "Ajutor la contor" on the platform compensatii.gov.md to receive energy compensations for the 2024-2025 cold season, which includes the months of November-March.

In order to receive the compensation, all consumers shall apply online, regardless of whether or not they registered in the system last year. All households heated with natural gas, heat, electricity or solid fuel (wood, coal, pellets, briquettes) are eligible. 

For this season, energy compensation will be granted in direct monetary form. The compensation will be transferred to the applicant's bank card or to the post office. Also, in order to better target the aid and respond to the specific needs of each household, the compensation will be calculated individually by the "Energy Vulnerability" information system, and energy vulnerability categories have been excluded. Respectively, the amount of compensation will vary for each household according to income, number of persons living together, their status (severely disabled person, child, pensioner, full-time student, unemployed), type of main source of heating in the dwelling, etc.

To receive compensation for November, applicants must register on the platform compensatii.gov.md by 28 November. During the cold season, applications can be submitted at any time, but compensation will not be granted for previous months. If the application was submitted after the 28th of the month, the compensation will be granted starting with the following month. 

"Again this year, the Government is supporting vulnerable citizens in the cold season and compensating part of their energy costs. Our intention is that households should not pay more than last year for the same consumption. We have made some changes and simplifications to the system to make it as accessible as possible for citizens," said Alexei Buzu, Minister of Labor and Social Protection. 

People who do not have access to the internet or have difficulties registering on the platform can complete the application with the help of social workers or specialists from the Unified Service Delivery Centers (CUPS). Mobile teams will be available in localities with large numbers of applicants to help register citizens. For questions related to the registration process, the toll-free call center number 0 8000 5000 (Monday-Friday from 08:00 to 18:00 and Saturday from 10:00 to 16:00) is available.  

To ensure the correct distribution of compensation, the "Energy Vulnerability" information system carefully checks the data entered by applicants, accessing financial, real estate and border crossing information held by state institutions such as the Tax Service, the National Social Insurance House, the Border Police, etc. This year, procedures have been improved and the system automatically excludes households exceeding certain financial thresholds and requires applicants to have lived in the country for at least 8 months out of the last 12 months. 

In the 2023-2024 season, more than 750 thousand households benefited from compensation, of which almost a third are heating with wood. More than half of the beneficiary households have registered in the system with the help of registrars. 

The Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund (EVRF) was created in 2022 by the Moldovan government with the support of the European Union, Slovakia and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and since its launch it has provided on-bill compensation to almost 900,000 households - around 75% of Moldova's total. 

UNDP supported the Government to mobilize resources for the Fund. In the 2022-2023 season, UNDP facilitated a contribution of US$10 million to the EVRF from Sweden and $6.67 million from Switzerland. In the 2023-2024 season, Sweden contributed $9.63 million and Italy contributed €5 million to the Fund through UNDP.

UNDP, Italy and other development partners continue to provide support also in the 2024-2025 cold season to ensure the functioning of the Energy Vulnerability Reduction Fund, the modernization of the IT system, and the work of the call center.