Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy Valeriu Lazar anticipates a slight decrease in the price of electricity produced by the power stations of Moldova. His expectations are fueled by the fact that in the first quarter of this year Moldova will import gas at the price of US$378 per 1,000 cubic meters, by US$6-7 lower compared with the last three months of 2012, Info-Prim Neo reports. As the charges for end users are set taking into account the entire quantity of electric power needed for consumption, including the electricity produced at the local stations and the imported one, the authorities expect that the tariffs will not rise. “But the negotiations are negotiations. We will see what we can do,” Valeriu Lazar told the press. Invitations to submit bids were sent to all the possible electric power suppliers from Ukraine and Romania, and to the Cuchurgan Power Plant. The negotiations are carried out by the private company Gas Natural Fenosa and the enterprise Energocom for the state power distribution networks REDs from northern Moldova. Last year, Moldova signed a contract with Ukraine for the supply of electric power at the price of US$0.069 per kWh.