The Republic of Moldova - collateral victim of the war

Ever since the beginning of Russia's war against Ukraine, the Republic of Moldova - the poorest state in Europe - has been a collateral victim. On the one hand, the ex-Soviet Republic must be cautious about its own pro-Russian population and, in parallel, it has to manage the problem of the Russian-speaking separatist region of Transdniester – a powder keg that is all the more dangerous in this extremely tense context. On the other hand, compared to the small number of its inhabitants, the Republic of Moldova has received the largest number of Ukrainian citizens. Not to mention the economic crisis that has been added to the refugee crisis. Chisinau's commercial relations with the East have been affected, and it had to redirect its exports to other destinations - to the West or to the Arab states. The most serious is, however, the energy crisis, given Moldova’s dependence on Russian gas and Ukrainian electricity. Tuesday’s Russian bombings in Ukraine have had repercussions on the electricity supply of the Republic of Moldova.

Dozens of localities and many consumers, including the capital Chisinau, have been temporarily left without electricity: one of the power lines that ensure the transport of electric power in the Republic was automatically disconnected, as a safety measure, which led to a massive blackout in almost the entire country. Although Chisinau did not specify which power line was affected, it seems that it is the Isaccea-Vulcăneşti-Chisinau high-voltage power line, through which the Republic of Moldova receives electricity from Romania and which crosses the Ukrainian territory. Tuesday's situation calls attention to the vulnerability of Moldova's energy system. Until recently, the small republic has purchased the needed electricity from Ukraine and from the Cuciurgan plant, located in the Transdniester region. Now, it can no longer import electricity from Ukraine, whose energy infrastructure was seriously destroyed, and since November 1, it no longer receives electricity from Cuciurgan either, after the Gazprom consortium halved gas supplies to the Republic of Moldova.

What is the solution? The authorities in Chisinau identified it by connecting to the European energy system ENTSO-E and by purchasing energy from Romania, which delivers to Moldova up to 90% of what it needs. On Tuesday, after the massive blackout, the energy supply in the Republic of Moldova was restored. However, there remains the fear that the scenario might be repeated at any time. Works are currently under way on an air line for direct electricity transport from Romania to the Republic of Moldova. But the project is to be finished in the next 2 or 3 years.