The government of Moldova, on the recommendation of Ukraine, has classified information about the flow of electricity and the state of power grids, said Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilitsa.
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Most of Moldova was left without electricity on November 15, interruptions were also observed in Chisinau and other cities of the republic. Data automatically appeared on the website of the main operator of the power system, Moldelectrica, indicating the shutdown of the export high-voltage line Vulcanesti-Isaccea, through which Moldova receives electricity from Romania. As Deputy Prime Minister Andrei Spinu explained, the republic temporarily stopped receiving electricity from Romania due to an emergency.
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A few hours after the incident, the power supply of the republic was restored. Official Chisinau linked the situation with power outages to the shelling of energy facilities, the defense industry, military administration in the regions of Ukraine bordering Moldova.
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“After these attacks, the websites of energy distribution companies will not publish complete information (on flows, status). This is how they do it all over Europe. We had conversations with a number of European colleagues, including partners in Ukraine. The Ukrainian side recommended that we not publish such information for security reasons,” Gavrilitsa said, answering the question why the information on flows and connection disappeared from the official website of Moldelectrica.
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Moldova is experiencing an energy crisis due to rising energy prices. The authorities in Chisinau announced that they were looking for alternative sources and suppliers of energy, since the only source remained the Moldavskaya GRES, which sells energy at a price of $62.5 per MWh. The Cabinet of Ministers of Moldova has introduced an austerity regime in connection with the energy crisis, which involves a number of restrictions on electricity consumption.
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In October last year, the Moldovan authorities agreed with Gazprom to extend the contract for the supply of gas to the republic, subject to an audit of the Moldovagaz debt in 2022.
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Gazprom said that it reserves the right to completely stop gas supplies to Moldova if the country violates payment obligations, as well as due to a gross violation of the deadlines for concluding an agreement to settle the historic debt of JSC Moldovagaz. In November, Moldova will receive 51% of the country’s gas needs.
