Moldova, the European Commission and the Energy Community Secretariat have agreed on a common roadmap to continue reforms in Moldova's energy sector.
The Energy Ministry said that the document was agreed during the 5th EU-Moldova high-level energy dialogue held in Chisinau, which gave both sides the opportunity to reaffirm their commitment to deepen cooperation in the energy sector. The event was organized by European Commissioner for Energy Kadri Simson and Moldovan Energy Minister Victor Parlicov. During the discussions, the Energy Minister said that Moldova intends to step up efforts to fully implement the Energy Community's norms as a key priority, in particular to transfer and fully implement the Clean Energy Package and the Electricity Integration Package, which will make it possible to include Moldova in the EU's internal electricity market, as well as to ensure the further opening and liberalization of the gas market. In this context, Moldova, the European Commission and the Energy Community Secretariat agreed on a common roadmap to continue reforms in Moldova's energy sector, including electricity, gas, renewable energy and energy efficiency. In order to increase the country's energy security, the possibility of increasing the capacity of electricity imports from the European Continental Grid and increasing the reverse capacity of the Trans-Balkan gas pipeline were discussed. In addition, Moldova pledged to accelerate the development of electricity interconnections, paying special attention to the timely construction of 400 kV Vulcanesti-Chisinau and Balti-Suceava overhead transmission lines, as well as to continue the construction of a third 400 kV interconnector in Straseni. At the same time, Moldova will study the possibility of offering the 400 kV Balti-Suceava transmission line for the EU list of projects of mutual interest, as well as the third transmission line. At the same time, the European Commission reiterated its commitment to support Moldova in continuing reforms in the energy sector and in developing its energy infrastructure, including by requesting up to €10 million for the Residential Energy Efficiency Fund in its first year of operation and another €3 million for technical assistance to the National Center for Sustainable Energy, which will become the national focal point for the country's energy efficiency needs, including in the residential sector. Similarly, the European Commission will support Moldova in achieving "net zero" emissions by 2050 by expanding the electrification process, as well as optimizing the energy sector by digitizing critical infrastructure, optimizing processes and benefiting from energy efficiency, promoting the use of green technologies (batteries, heat pumps, smart meters, increasing the use of electric vehicles, etc.) and attracting financing to the sector. // 02.02.2024 - InfoMarket
