Moldovan authorities to launch audit into delays to Vulcanesti–Chisinau power line project

The authorities will launch a comprehensive audit into delays affecting the construction of the Vulcanesti–Chisinau power line, Energy Minister Dorin Junghietu said today. The audit will be conducted after the completion of the works.

“Once the works are completed, a broad and comprehensive audit of all delays will be carried out. I have also asked the contractor and the Energy Projects Implementation Unit, which monitors this project, to present as soon as possible, together with the contractor, a comprehensive analysis of all delays,” Dorin Junghietu said after a today’s cabinet meeting.

The project includes the construction of the Vulcanesti–Chisinau power line and the Vulcanesti and Chisinau substations at the two ends of the line. Construction works on the line were completed as early as November 2025, and at the end of July it was fully energized. The works at the Vulcanesti substation have also been finished. At the other end of the line, at the Chișinău substation, works are continuing. During a visit to the construction site last week, the energy minister announced that a defect had been identified in one of the current transformers during the installation of the associated equipment, prompting additional checks that could cause delays in commissioning the line. The defective equipment was returned to the manufacturer’s plant in Spain for repairs.

Dorin Junghietu today said that the Spanish plant had requested all necessary information, so that the equipment could be delivered as quickly as possible once all repair works were completed.

“Last week, I discussed the matter at the substation with the contractors and was informed that the manufacturer, or the plant in Spain to which the defective equipment from the Chișinău substation had been returned, had requested the commercial details and the contact information of the relevant persons so that, once the repairs and all tests on that equipment are completed, all procedures of export to Moldova can be carried out as promptly as possible. Once again, no firm deadline was confirmed. If all tests are successfully completed, the equipment could leave Spain for Moldova at the end of September. This equipment affects the commissioning of the entire Chisinau substation, as it is part of the 330 kW section. The line has been completed, and the Vulcanesti substation has been completed and accepted. Now, the Chisinau substation must also be completed,” Dorin Junghietu emphasized.

The minister also noted that, once the necessary equipment arrives in the country, another two to three weeks would be needed to complete the works.

“Once there is certainty that the equipment has passed the factory tests and is already on its way to Moldova, with the required tests at the substation taken into account, another two to three weeks would be needed. Thus, when the equipment arrives and the entire substation and all its equipment are tested, an estimated two to three weeks would still be required, according to the timeframe communicated by the contractor and the technicians at the substation,” the energy minister said.

The construction works on the Vulcanesti–Chisinau overhead power line started in April 2024 and are part of the Electricity System Development Project, financed by the World Bank Group. The project is worth 61 million euros, of which approximately 27 million euros is allocated for the construction of the line.

The infrastructure of the line itself was completed in November last year, ahead of schedule, and was also energized up to the Chisinau substation. However, the commercial commissioning of the entire project requires the completion of all works at the Chisinau substation, including the testing and energization of the associated equipment.

The line is 157 kilometers long, crosses 35 localities in eight districts and connects the 400 kV Vulcanesti Electrical Substation with the 330 kV Chisinau Electrical Substation. It will be able to transmit up to 630 MVA of power, equivalent to more than 50 per cent of the country’s required consumption during peak periods.

The construction of the Vulcanesti–Chisinau power line is a strategically important project for the country’s energy security. The new power line will enable electricity to be transmitted from Romania or other European markets to Chisinau without passing through the Moldovan Power Plant, located in the Transnistrian region.