Contract for Transdniestria's power supply to Moldova extended through February

CHISINAU. Jan 26 (Interfax) - The current contract for power supply to Moldova from Transdniestria has been extended through February 2023, the Moldovan Infrastructure and Regional Development Ministry said on Thursday.

According to the ministry, the Moldovan Energocom state-run company and Moldovan GRES [a power plant located in Transdniestria and owned by Russia's Inter RAO] have agreed to continue providing power supply from the plant to Moldova's western bank of the Dniester River in February. The contract says that Energocom will buy almost 230,000 MW/hours of electricity. The daily power supply will range from 6.800 MW/hours to almost 8,900 MW/hours. The price is unchanged: $73 per one MW/hour.

Energocom will continue to buy the missing amount of electricity - 30 MW/hours during daytime and 10 MW/hours at night - from Romania's Nuclearelectrica. In all, purchases from Nuclearelectrica will reach 16,240 MW/hours in February. The contract price is 450 Romanian lei (about $100) per MW/hour, which is more expensive than electricity sold by Moldovan GRES.

Moldova meets slightly more than 25% of domestic demand on its own and buys the rest from Moldovan GRES and Romanian suppliers.

Interfax reported earlier that, on October 1, Gazprom had reduced its daily gas supplies to Moldova by 30% to 5.7 million cubic meters from the required 8.06 mcm, citing technical problems due to restrictions on gas transit through Ukraine. Gazprom's gas deliveries to Moldova in November and December stood at 5.07 million cubic meters per day, which is less than 40% of what is necessary during the cold period.

Meanwhile, the western bank of the Dniester used the gas supplied by Gazprom only on the first three days of December. Moldova directs the entire amount of Gazprom gas to Transdniestria in exchange for meeting over 60% of the electricity demand on the western bank. The western bank of the Dniester buys gas on the spot market and uses gas from reserves. Hence, Moldovagaz does not make current payments to Gazprom, and the eastern bank of the Dniester has not paid Gazprom for gas for over a decade.