By 2031, Moldova will be able to import all the necessary natural gas and electricity from Romania. This was stated today, May 22, by the Romanian Energy Minister Virgil Popescu, speaking at the Energy Forum in Bucharest.
The official noted that recently the government approved the Moldovan-Romanian intergovernmental memorandum, which will allow to synchronize the electricity and gas networks of the two countries. The 400 kV transmission line Suceava-Balti will connect the electrical grid, and the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline will be able to transport gas in both directions by 2031.
“Last week we approved a memorandum in the government on strengthening energy cooperation. We want to fully provide Moldova with gas and electricity,” Popescu confirmed.
According to him, there are two funding opportunities in Romania – the European Commission’s REPowerEU plan to phase out Russian energy resources by 2027, and the Modernization Fund. He added that the Moldovan side already has appropriate funding on its territory.
“Nuclearelectrica (Romania) and Energocom (Moldova) have already signed a PPA (Power Purchase Agreement) contract in the context of the development of the third and fourth units of the Romanian Cernavoda NPP. In practice, we want to supply Moldova completely and completely with electricity and natural gas from Romania,” concluded Virgil Popescu.
Recall that at present, Chisinau sends all the gas received from the Russian Gazprom to Pridnestrovie, so that the Moldavskaya GRES located there (an Inter RAO enterprise) can provide up to 100% of the electricity demand on the right bank of the Dniester.
Moldova replenishes its own gas reserves stored in Romania and Ukraine on the Western markets in the same Romania and Greece, but at a price higher than that of the Russian concern.
As EADaily reported , on May 18, the first tender took place on the European Union’s common gas procurement platform AggregateEU. Moldova also joined in, requesting 5,000 megawatts per hour every month, or a total of 60,000 megawatts per hour. This is the minimum amount allowed by the platform. The new system was designed to move away from Russian gas and is open to both European and non-EU companies.
According to the study, an average Moldovan can buy only 421.7 cubic meters of gas on a salary, and according to this indicator, he is in last, 30th place in Europe. Romania is in the penultimate place in this ranking.
Source: eadaily
