The Moldovan government approved the ratification of a memorandum of agreement with Romania, concluded on December 11, on the implementation of projects for the interconnection of natural gas and electricity networks of the two countries.
The document envisages the possibility to increase the natural gas transportation capacity and expand the Iasi-Ungheni-Chisinau gas pipeline through the construction of the Chisinau Belt gas transportation pipeline by the end of 2031. It is noted that the development of the natural gas storage system in Romania will be supported by increasing the natural gas storage capacity in the Sărmășel storage facility and/or constructing a new storage facility in Fălticeni. The memorandum also envisages the construction of a new 400 kV Suceava-Balti transmission line, the extension of the 400 kV Suceava and 400 kV Balti stations, the construction of a 400 kV transmission line between Straseni and the power plant in Romania created by Transelectrica, as well as the development of the existing 110 kV line Huşi-Cioara. The document also outlines the conditions for the appointment of OPCOM (Romania) as an electricity market operator in Moldova, including as a designated electricity market operator. This, the government said, will ensure the integration of the Moldovan market with the EU internal electricity market. In its turn, state-owned Moldelectrica will have to integrate into the balancing market, managed by Romanian company Transelectrica. As InfoMarket previously reported, the processes of cross-border trade in balancing electricity and system services should be established through Moldelectrica's access to the balancing market and the market of system technological services managed by Transelectrica. It is planned that the promotion of investment projects envisaged in the Memorandum will increase the security of energy supply of Moldova and Romania, as well as contribute to the diversification of sources and routes of supply at the regional level. The document stipulates new actions that the sides will undertake in order to connect Moldova to the energy market of Romania and the EU as a whole. It is worth mentioning that when signing the memorandum (December 11, 2023), Romanian Energy Minister Sebastian Burduja said that Romania will help Moldova to get rid of energy blackmail and to have sufficient electricity and natural gas for economic development. He noted that Romania is increasing the production and export of electricity, as well as has solid own reserves of natural gas in the amount of 3.1 billion cubic meters and can share them if necessary to cover Moldova's needs and diversify the sources of supply. // 07.02.2024 - InfoMarket
