Transnistria refuses gas from Europe: it is waiting for supplies from Russia
3 January 23:19
The self-proclaimed Transnistrian Moldovan Republic (TMR) did not take advantage of Moldova’s offer to purchase gas from Europe. Local authorities hope to resume supplies from Russian Gazprom. This was stated in a commentary to IPN by Vadim Cheban, acting head of Moldovagaz, Komersant ukrainskyi reports
The Transnistrian authorities rejected the proposal, claiming that it implies the purchase of gas at “higher and more unstable” prices.
Tiraspol also said it expects Russia’s Gazprom to resume gas supplies under a contract that expires in 2026, IPN reports.
Yesterday, Moldovagaz and Energocom said they were ready to help Tiraspoltransgaz organize gas purchases on any European platform based on market conditions to provide energy to residents of the left bank of the Dniester.
Natural gas can be delivered via various alternative transportation routes to the border of the Republic of Moldova based on an agency agreement with Tiraspoltransgaz.
The energy crisis in Transnistria began on January 1, after Ukraine cut off the transit of Russian gas through its territory. The unrecognized republic turned out to be critically dependent on Russian gas and unprepared for such a step by Ukraine. The territory immediately stopped supplying heat to homes and began selling firewood.
Almost 75,000 residential customers have already been disconnected from gas. 116,000 will continue to receive a limited amount of natural gas. These are mostly residents of high-rise buildings who cook on gas stoves.
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The PMR states that it will have enough gas to maintain critical facilities until January 20 in the south of the republic and until January 10 in the north.
The Moldovan state hydroelectric power plant, which supplies electricity to Moldova and Transnistria, has switched to coal, which will be enough for 50-52 days of electricity supply. Moldova claims that the country’s energy security is not threatened. In particular, the state is able to import electricity from Romania and Ukraine. However, Transnistria has no such options.
At the same time, as the minister of the unrecognized republic notes, it will only be clear by January 5 how much electricity the household sector consumes. And then the energy balance will show what can be directed to the needs of enterprises. But the enterprises of the PMR may not be able to start up.
“The problem is so global that if it is not resolved for a long time, we will get irreversible changes. That is, enterprises will lose the opportunity to launch,”
– the official emphasizes.
An economic emergency has been declared in the unrecognized republic. The problems will only get worse as the temperature drops.
