Chisinau can return to electricity from the Transnistrian region through the fault of the Government, experts say
Against the background of some legislative loopholes and the fault of the Government, Chisinau risks returning to electricity from the Transnistrian region, at a double price, thus contributing to the financing of the separatist regime, warn WatchDog.md experts.
Chisinau no longer buys electricity from Tiraspol. PHOTO: Moldova travel
According to the experts Sergiu Tofilat and Eugen Muravschi, who carried out the analysis, this risk persists even if the Moldovan Government is committed to breaking the dependence on Russian energy resources, with which Chisinau was blackmailed. The commitment was assumed in February 2025, in exchange for financial support of 250 million euros from the European Commission.
“The financial assistance provided compensation for the increase in energy tariffs on the right bank, but also the 60 million euros that can be used for consumers on the left side of the Dniester. The Government committed to adopt a strategy by which Moldova would no longer be blackmailed and dependent on Russian gas for the production of heat, as well as electricity. The Government was also going to adopt a decision on the complete elimination of any dependence on the unstable supply of Russian energy resources. With the title to clarify, the electricity procurement tenders are carried out according to the rules approved by ANRE. Therefore, the Government should have notified ANRE regarding the need to change the electricity procurement procedures”. the authors of the analysis detailed.
But the Executive would not have informed the National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) regarding the need to change the electricity procurement procedure, so as to ensure that MoldGRES from the Transnistrian region will not be able to participate.
“During the state of emergency, energy was purchased by Energocom based on the public service obligation, assigned by the Government. This obligation will expire on December 31, 2025, after which the tender procedures will be applied according to the rules of the electricity market, approved by ANRE decision No. 283/2020. There is a loophole in the energy purchase procedures: any participant who has no debts to the fuel supplier can qualify to the production of energy. MoldGRES procures gas from TiraspolTransgaz-Pridnestrovie, and the tariffs are set at the discretion of the so-called Tiraspol government. Therefore, the MoldGRES plant can easily present a certificate regarding the absence of gas debts and will be able to participate in the tenders for the procurement of energy, organized by the operators of Moldova.” experts warn.
While MoldGRES will be able to participate in the auctions, suppliers in Ukraine will not be able to because they are facing energy shortages and disconnections.
“Respectively, MoldGRES will only compete with suppliers from Romania, where the average price of energy exceeds 125 EUR/MWh. Since the Transnistrian region does not pay for gas consumption, the MoldGRES plant can come with a slightly lower price offer (124.5 EUR/MWh, for example), and Moldovan suppliers will have no legal grounds to reject it. For comparison, in 2024, the Republic of Moldova procures energy from MoldGRES at the price of 60 EUR/MWh (66 USD/MWh)”, it is also shown in the analysis.
The reaction of the Executive
The Moldovan government, through the Ministry of Energy, reacted by denying the accusations.
“WatchDog's observations are generally relevant, but it should be noted that the Government approved a plan to eliminate dependence on Russian energy resources at the beginning of the year, which is being implemented. As for the position paper's recommendations, the first would be difficult to implement, as it would probably require obtaining fuel debt-free certificates from all European traders and suppliers. The second recommendation was reviewed and rejected as not solving the problem, and the third the third was executed on Tuesday, by extending the public service obligation for Energocom to purchase electricity centrally for another year”, the relevant ministry officials mentioned for “Adevărul”.
Until December 2024, the Republic of Moldova covered a large part of its electricity consumption, purchasing it at a relatively low price from the Cuciurgan Thermoelectric Power Plant (MoldGRES), located in Transnistria, a pro-Russian separatist region, which was left without Russian gas after the expiration of the contract between Moscow and Kiev regarding the transit of Russian gas to Europe.
Gazprom, a Kremlin-controlled company, has refused to honor its contractual obligations, citing an alleged $709 million debt owed by Moldovagaz, the Chisinau-based company. The amount was not confirmed by the international audit carried out at the initiative of the Moldovan authorities, and its results are not recognized by Gazprom.
