Energy Minister: Building new interconnections with Romania to strengthen energy security

The completion of the Vulcanesti-Chisinau power line and the construction of new interconnections with Romania, such as Balti-Suceava and Straseni-Gutinas will strengthen the energy security of our country. This was the response of Minister of Energy Dorin Junghietu, when asked about the long-term measures taken by the authorities to ensure that the Republic of Moldova no longer needs to procure emergency electricity, as happened in recent days in the context of Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy system.


"The construction of Balti-Suceava line is one of our medium and long-term priorities, and of course the construction of the Straseni-Gutinas line. These are the two measures, but at the same time, we are also focusing on investments in local generation from renewables and gas-fired plants," stated Dorin Junghietu.


The minister emphasized that the emergency electricity procured from Romania, in the context of Russian attacks on Ukraine's energy infrastructure, was necessary to stabilize the national power system.


"There were no disconnections. With emergency electricity from Romania, we managed to stabilize the system. In the action plan for the winter 2025-2026, clear actions for this scenario have been provided, which were implemented over the weekend," explained Dorin Junghietu.


At the same time, the official stressed that emergency electricity is more expensive, and if its procurement becomes necessary more frequently, it will affect the electricity tariffs paid by consumers.


"Emergency aid is not commercially purchased electricity by Energocom under bilateral contracts or from the market. It is electricity accessed on an urgent basis, and its price is known only at the beginning of the following month. If we access more and more emergency electricity, it will eventually create premises for tariff increases, because it has a financial impact on the operator," stated the Minister of Energy.


On Friday night into Saturday, a large-scale Russian aerial attack hit Ukraine's power grid, causing injuries and emergency power outages in several regions. In this context, the Minister of Energy of the Republic of Moldova, Dorin Junghietu, announced on Sunday, December 7, that the power system of the Republic of Moldova is under pressure following massive attacks launched by the Russian Federation on Ukraine's energy infrastructure. The strikes damaged a major power group in the region close to Moldova, and the interconnection lines reached nearly maximum load.

As a result of exceeding the planned flow, the national operator Moldelectrica requested emergency aid from Romania, a measure aimed at stabilizing the network and avoiding the risk of overloads.

Furthermore, on Monday afternoon and evening, December 8, Moldelectrica had to request emergency electricity again. The request was determined by the imbalance in the power system due to limited interconnection capacity with Romania and deviations from the forecast values of consumption and generation in the electricity market.