A government commission will be created in Moldova to take measures to prevent and reduce the impact of the energy crisis in the event of gas supplies cuts.
This is envisaged by a draft government decision on the approval of some measures to prevent and mitigate the impact of the energy crisis in case of natural gas supplies cuts and preparations for the heating season 2022-2023. The document was developed by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development and submitted for public consultations. The Ministry presented an analysis of the potential risks in case of cuts or suspension of natural gas supply by Gazprom (three scenarios with probability of gas supply cuts in proportions of 35%, 50% and 100% are analyzed). But it is noted that irrespective of Gazprom decision, the Moldovan authorities will take measures to reduce gas consumption during the cold period of the year by at least 15%. It is planned to increase the number of protected consumers by including all small and medium enterprises with average daily consumption of less than 600 cubic meters of gas a day in this category, as well as thermal power plants, which supply heat to the protected consumers and cannot use other types of fuel. It is planned to increase and replenish state stocks of fuel oil to diversify alternative energy sources of natural gas. Fuel oil is an alternative to natural gas for Termoelectrica to generate electricity and provide heat to Chisinau municipality. The amount needed is 216,000 tons of fuel oil and it could replace approximately 312 million cubic meters of gas, which is the estimated consumption for October-April 2022-2023. A contract has already been signed for the purchase of the first volumes of fuel oil, which will be sent to the state reserve. In addition, the population's access to the purchase of firewood will be ensured. The government will make sure that citizens who heat their homes with firewood can buy it at an affordable price. In the near future, the government will inform about the action plan on provision of the population with firewood for the cold period of 2022-2023. In addition, it is planned to simplify the import of coal. In the near future, decisions will be taken to attract an additional volume of at least 100 thousand tons of coal. The state coal reserve will also be replenished. A preliminary draft government decree on measures to prevent and mitigate the consequences of the energy crisis in case of restrictions on natural gas supplies and preparations for the new heating season are available at: https://bit.ly/3BFDA0F. // 03.08.2022 - InfoMarket.
