Moldova to reduce share of electricity supplied by MGRES plant to 37%, increase imports from Romania
CHISINAU. Dec 12 (Interfax) - Moldova's state-owned JSC Energocom, the country's main supplier of gas and electricity, will reduce the share of electricity imports from the Moldavskaya GRES power plant or MGRES in Transdniestria to 37% of the total required volume in December, the company said.
Moldova has met around 80% of its electricity needs through supplies from MGRES this year.
Energocom plans to purchase around 463,000 MWh for the right bank of the Dniester in December, with 37% or 170,500 MWh of the required volume coming from MGRES, the company said. Under the contract's terms, the cost of electricity is $66 per 1 MWh.
A third of the required electricity, around 150,000 MWh, will be purchased on the Romanian OPCOM exchange and from the Romanian company Nuclearelectrica. Another 22,300 MWh or 5% of requirements will be purchased from Romania's Cernavoda Nuclear Power Plant.
Local thermal power stations in Chisinau and Balti will generate 115,400 MWh or 25% of requirements.
Around 110,000 MWh were purchased from Romania between December 1 and 10, up 15% year-on-year, Energocom said.
At the same time, Energocom urges consumers to use energy resources rationally. The demand for electricity in the local market began to rise at the end of November, when prices on OPCOM also started increasing due to higher demand in Romania.
Energocom previously said that it had reserved part of its electricity volume for a month with the Romanian company Nuclearelectrica, for the first time within the framework of integrating the Moldovan and Romanian energy systems.
Moldova purchased 90% of its electricity from MGRES in October. Around 7% was supplied by TPPs and local renewable energy producers. The remaining 3% was bought from Nuclearelectrica and on the OPCOM exchange.
JSC Energocom is the central energy supplier in Moldova, purchasing electricity from renewable energy plants with eligible producer status as well as from TPPs, and reselling the corresponding energy to suppliers at government-regulated prices.
Since July 1, 2014, Energocom has been operating in the Moldovan natural gas market as a supplier of natural gas. Based on the license issued, the company enters into direct contracts for the supply of natural gas for domestic needs.
Since December 2022, Moldovagaz has been receiving gas from two sources - the state enterprise Energocom and Russia's Gazprom . Russian gas is sent to Transdniestria in exchange for electricity.
On Wednesday, the Moldovan government decided to introduce a state of emergency from December 16 for 60 days due to the energy situation. The decision still needs to be approved by parliament.
Moldovan authorities are preparing for an energy crisis, as the transit of Russian gas through Ukraine is expected to cease on January 1, 2025. This will reduce electricity generation at the Moldavskaya GRES power plant in Transdniestria, which currently accounts for 80% of Moldova's electricity consumption.
The leadership of the unrecognized Transdniestrian Moldavian Republic announced the introduction of a state of emergency on December 10, which includes a ban on electricity exports in the event of a halt in gas supplies.