Moldova covers electricity shortage with imports from Romania – Energocom

Moldova is supplied with electricity in sufficient quantity, the press service for the state-owned Energocom company said in a statement on Thursday.

The shortage of domestically produced electricity was fully covered over the past 24 hours thanks to a contract signed with Romania, without the need for urgent and emergency purchases during peak hours, the statement said.

Hence, local heating plants produced more than 37% of the required electricity on January 1-2, while renewable energy plants produced over 12%. The shortfall of nearly 50% of electricity was imported from Romania.

Electricity supplies from the Moldavskaya GRES or MGRES power plant to Transdniestria have been completely halted since January 1, as only two out of the four power units are operating at the plant. Due to the halt to gas supplies, the plant has been switched to coal and generates electricity only for household consumers and life- supporting enterprises in Transdniestria.

The right bank of the Dniester river used to buy up to 80% of its electricity from the left bank. It was generated using Russian gas, for which Tiraspol did not pay Gazprom.

Electricity-saving measures came into effect in Moldova on January 1. In accordance with the plan adopted by the National Emergency Situations Commission in late December, public and commercial buildings reduced their outside lighting by at least 30% where technically possible. A total switch-off of lights in those premises that are not involved in the operational process has been made mandatory. At the same time, holiday lighting in Chisinau has been halved since January 1.

All the electricity produced in Moldova has been directed only to the domestic market since January 1. Exports are possible only on weekends and holidays, while there is a ban on exports at other hours.

As previously reported, Gazprom stopped supplying gas to Transdniestria from January 1. Gazprom justified its decision by Moldovagaz failing to meet its contractual obligations, and the fact that the $709 million historical debt has not been repaid.

For his part, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean accused Gazprom of failing to comply with its contractual obligations to supply gas. Moldova has no debts under the five-year contract signed on October 29, 2021. The Moldovan authorities do not recognize the "historical debt", referring to the findings of an international audit. Chisinau accused Moscow of "energy blackmail" in order to destabilize the situation in Moldova.

At the same time, Moldova has not consumed Russian gas since the end of 2022. The entire volume of gas reaching 5.7 million cubic meters per day, which was delivered by Gazprom, was shipped to Transdniestria. The region has not paid for gas for many years and its debt exceeds $10 billion.