Moldavia says it hopes for EU help in buying turbines for electricity
Moldova is counting on European Union (EU) funds to purchase turbines to generate additional electricity after Ukraine stopped gas transit from Russia. Moldovan President Maia Sandu said in an interview with Nord News on January 21.
"Today we buy energy on the EU market, but there are certain restrictions related to the ENTSO-E system, which we are part of together with Ukraine. What is being discussed in the government is the introduction, through the EU civil protection mechanism, of turbines capable of generating additional electricity and replacing capacities when Moldovan thermal power plants stop working due to warm weather," the Moldovan leader said.
In addition, Sandu said that the first tranche of $1.8 billion from Moldova's economic growth plan, which was approved by the EU, should be transferred in spring 2025.
"We want this too: that the first tranche be released in March-April, not later. Especially since we need resources to cope with the energy crisis we find ourselves in. This is also money for business support," the Moldovan president said.
Earlier, on January 17, Moldovagaz JSC recognized a historical debt to Gazprom of $709 million, which refers to the period from the 1990s to 2014. It is reported that at the moment this debt has not been canceled and is in the accounting records, and all documents confirming this are signed.
Before that, on January 12, in the first 10 days of January 2025, the Moldovan energy company Energocom spent more than €15 million to purchase electricity for Moldovan residents. It is also reported that Energocom is in constant dialog with its foreign partners to find better price offers.
On January 1, centralized heating was cut off in Transnistria after Gazprom stopped Russian gas supplies via Ukraine. Gas stopped flowing also to Moldova because of the country's outstanding debts. For his part, Moldovan Prime Minister Dorin Recean did not recognize the debt and threatened to sue. At the same time, it became known that the Moldavian TPP switched to the use of coal in connection with the cessation of gas supplies from Russia.
The day before, energy expert Sergei Ungureanu told Izvestia that Moldova has a difficult situation in the energy sector, and the purchase of electricity from Europe will hit the country's economy. He noted that Moldova had not agreed to continue gas transit through Ukraine, which meant that Transnistria would not receive it and would not be able to produce enough cheap electricity.
