The Moldovan government’s emergency commission has approved the conditions for utilizing a €30 million grant from the European Union to ensure the country's energy security, including the unrecognized Transnistria. This was reported on the Moldovan government’s website on Saturday, February 1.
It was noted that the allocated funds will finance the supply of natural gas to consumers in unrecognized Transnistria until February 10, as well as the purchase and supply of electricity to consumers in Moldova.
The state energy company of Moldova, Energocom, will procure natural gas worth €20 million from Europe and Ukraine at market prices. After that, the gas will be transported to Transnistria by the company "Tiraspoltransgaz," but not exceeding 3 million m3 per day.
Additionally, Moldovan Energocom will purchase electricity worth €10 million from the European Union and Ukraine for consumers in Moldova. The import and supply of natural gas and electricity, as well as their transportation and distribution, are exempt from VAT, the government stated.
The Moldovan government’s emergency commission reminded that the EU is providing urgent support to the country to guarantee its energy security. To this end, the government of the Republic of Moldova and the European Union signed a grant agreement for €64 million. Of this amount, €30 million is allocated for the purchase of gas and electricity for both banks of the Dniester, while €34 million is financial assistance to the Moldovan government.
It is worth noting that the acting director of "Moldovagaz," Vadim Cheban, reported that on February 1, the company began supplying the first volume of 3 million m3 of gas to unrecognized Transnistria. He explained that currently, the gas being supplied is already in the pipelines on the right bank, meaning it is not new purchases made by the government in Europe, writes "European Truth."
Energy Crisis in Unrecognized Transnistria: What We Know
On January 2, due to the cessation of Russian gas supplies through Ukraine, all industrial enterprises in unrecognized Transnistria stopped operating, and heating was turned off in citizens’ homes. By January 3, rolling blackouts of electricity were introduced there due to increased load on the energy system.
The authorities of Transnistria declared that they would use coal for electricity generation, which would last almost until the end of winter. However, on January 4, the Moldovan government’s crisis center reported that coal in Transnistria would last only until the end of January.
By January 8, President Volodymyr Zelensky and Moldovan President Maia Sandu agreed to jointly help unrecognized Transnistria overcome the energy crisis. Zelensky stated that Ukraine is ready to assist the region, particularly with coal.
On January 20, the president of the unrecognized Transnistrian Moldovan Republic, Vadim Krasnoselsky, announced that the region is ready to receive gas from the Moldovan state company "Moldovagaz" and pay for its delivery.