Moldova and Romania will sign on December 11 a Memorandum of Understanding to connect the natural gas and electricity networks of the two countries.
At a meeting on Wednesday, the Government of Moldova approved the signing of the corresponding memorandum. As noted in the Ministry of Energy, the memorandum provides for the possibility of increasing the capacity of natural gas transportation and expanding the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline through the construction of a gas transport pipeline - Chisinau Belt by the end of 2031. In addition, the development of the natural gas storage system in Romania will be supported by increasing the natural gas storage capacity at the Sărmășel warehouse and/or the construction of a new warehouse in Falticeni. In the field of electricity, the memorandum concerns the Suceava-Balti 400 kV overhead transmission line, the expansion of the Suceava 400 kV station and the Balti 400 kV station, the 400 kV overhead transmission line project between Straseni and the power plant on Romanian territory created by Transelectrica, as well as the development of the existing 110 kV line Huși-Cioara. These measures will be implemented in the context of the recent synchronization of Moldova's electricity system with the European network of transmission system operators ENTSO-E. The memorandum will also provide the conditions for the appointment of OPCOM as an operator of the electricity market in Moldova, including the designated operator of the electricity market. This will ensure the integration of the Moldovan market with the EU internal electricity market. In turn, Moldelectrica will have to integrate into the balancing market managed by Transelectrica. Cross-border trading processes for balancing electricity and system services should be established through Moldelectrica's access to the balancing market and the market for system technology services managed by Transelectrica. //06.12.2023 – InfoMarket.
