Natural gas storage to also be mandatory in Transnistrian region

The entity responsible for supplying natural gas to the Transnistrian region will be required to gradually create and maintain gas stocks. The parliamentary Committee on Economy, Budget and Finance will propose to the Legislature the examination, in first reading, of a draft law to this effect.

According to the document, the stocks will have to cover at least 15% of the average annual natural gas consumption of final consumers in the Transnistrian region, calculated on the basis of data recorded over the last five years. When determining this consumption, only the volumes used for the own needs of consumers in the region will be taken into account, without including the gas used for producing electricity delivered outside the region.

Also, during the heating season, the entity responsible for supplying natural gas to the Transnistrian region will submit reports to the Ministry of Energy and the National Agency for Energy Regulation (ANRE) on the level of the stocks created. The draft law, developed by the Ministry of Energy, aims to reduce the impact of possible exceptional situations in the natural gas sector on the national economy and to ensure the security of natural gas supply for final consumers on both banks of the Dniester River.

ANRE has recently extended, until 31 December 2026, the mandate of Moldovagaz as the entity responsible for supplying natural gas to the Transnistrian region, in order to ensure continuity of deliveries and strengthen energy security in the region. After adoption, the legislative amendments will enter into force on the date of publication in the Official Journal, so that natural gas stocks can be created in due time for the preparation of the 2026–2027 heating season.

In 2022, Parliament adopted a legislative initiative that makes the creation of natural gas stocks mandatory. However, the natural gas system of the Republic of Moldova is divided between the right bank of the Nistru River and the Transnistrian region, which is not controlled by the country’s constitutional authorities. On the left bank of the Dniester is located the largest gas‑fired thermal power plant – MGRES, which, up to and including 2024, supplied up to 80% of the annual electricity used on the right bank of the Dniester River.