Chisinau, Tiraspol sign agreement on power supply to Moldova with larger gas supply to Transdniestria
CHISINAU. Dec 5 (Interfax) - Chisinau and Tiraspol have signed an agreement on power supply to Moldova with larger gas supply to Transdniestria, Moldovan Deputy Prime Minister, Infrastructure and Regional Development Minister Andrei Spinu said on Saturday night.
"The Energocom state company has signed an agreement with Moldovan GRES on power supply in December. A possible extension of the contract into January-March 2023 is being discussed," Spinu said on social media.
In his words, Moldova will be buying most of the gas from Transdniestria and the remaining amount from Romania.
"Moldovan GRES will be supplying 204,000 MW. Together with the bilateral contracts with Romania, this is enough to meet the entire demand on the western bank of the Dniester. The price for electricity generated by Moldovan GRES will stand at $73 per MW. Moldovagaz will be supplying 5.7 mcm of gas to the eastern bank, including Moldovan GRES, per day," Spinu said.
"The agreement is a reasonable compromise, which will provide people on both banks of the Dniester with electricity and gas," he said.
"The western bank will be taking gas from reserves. This is the first time the western bank does not depend on gas supplied by Gazprom. Besides, the agreement lowers the risk of massive power outages. We are doing everything we can to supply the country with electricity," Spinu said, adding that people in Moldova should still be economical.
The Commission for Emergency Situations and the National Energy Regulatory Authority will soon make a decision to cut the electricity charge, he said.
As Interfax reported earlier, Gazprom cut daily gas supply to Moldova by 30% to 5.7 mcm on October 1, while the daily demand amounts to 8.06 mcm.
Gazprom explained the move with technical problems caused by restricted gas transit via Ukraine. Gazprom said it would be supplying the same amount of gas, 5.7 mcm, which is 43.5% of the demand during the cold season.
According to the preliminary estimates, Moldova needs about 11 mcm a day in December, two-thirds of which for Transdniestria that generates electricity. As the gas deficit occurred in November, Energocom and Moldovan GRES (based in Transdniestria) failed to agree on power supply to Moldova. GRES supplied 67% of electricity needed by the western bank in October.
As Moldovan GRES refused to supply electricity to the western bank, Moldovagaz cut gas supply 40% in November, from 3.9 mcm to 2.3 mcm per day. That allowed Moldova to save some of the gas in storage facilities in Ukraine and Romania. Moldova is planning to use some of this gas in December, while the entire amount of gas supplied by Gazprom will go to Transdniestria.