Moldovan authorities will create the Ministry of Energy
The next government of Moldova will create an energy ministry, which will develop the country's energy market, said on Tuesday the vice-chairman of the ruling Action and Solidarity Party (PSD) in the republic, acting. Minister of Agriculture Volodymyr Bolya.
Moldovan Prime Minister Natalia Gavrilitsa announced on Friday that she is resigning. Together with the prime minister, the entire government automatically resigns. On Friday, it became known that President Maia Sandu had nominated her adviser in the field of security and national defense, former Interior Minister Dorin Recean, as a candidate for the post of prime minister. The leader of the ruling “Action and Solidarity” party, Igor Grosu, expressed support for him on behalf of the political force.
“The Ministry of Energy will be created, which, in my opinion, is an important structure. The main direction will be the development of the energy sector. We need an operational program for the development of this sector. We are thinking of enlisting the support of the European Union regarding the creation of infrastructure in order to connect directly to European power networks, to diversify energy sources and develop green energy,” Bolea said on the Chisinau TV channel TV-8.
The politician clarified that now the power system of Moldova is partially connected with the Ukrainian one, which creates certain risks in the light of recent events in Ukraine.
The Vice-Chairman of the PAS also noted that the Rechan team will include most of the ministers from the previous government. It is expected that the inauguration of the new prime minister will take place on Thursday.
Earlier, the Moldovan authorities reported that the process of synchronizing power grids with the European Network of Electricity Transmission System Operators (ENTSO-E) was completed, but so far the main supplier of electricity to the country is the Moldavskaya GRES thermal power plant owned by Inter RAO (located on the territory of Transnistria). This is one of the largest thermal power plants in the southeast of the former USSR, which provided electricity to Moldova, the southern regions of Ukraine and delivered it to the Balkans. The installed capacity of the power plant is 2,520 MW. Its main fuels are gas and coal.
Moldova is experiencing an energy crisis due to rising energy prices, the gas tariff for consumers has increased seven times over the past year, and four times for electricity since January 2022, and household water tariffs have more than doubled. Against this background, the Cabinet of Ministers introduced an austerity regime, and about 5 billion lei ($261 million) were allocated from the budget to compensate for the payment of gas, electricity and residential heating for residential consumers. Against the backdrop of rising tariffs in Moldova, anti-government protests took place.