Moldova launched a new extra-high-voltage power line on Sunday, Nov. 8, linking the country to Romania and the European grid, President Maia Sandu said. Al Jazeera and the Kyiv Independent reported the launch. Sandu also said Moldova no longer buys Russian gas.
Related: European Union Enlargement Package Says Montenegro Could Close Talks This Year.
What opened
The line runs from Vulcănești to the capital, Chișinău, and spans 158 kilometers (98 miles), the Kyiv Independent reported. Sandu spoke at the inauguration ceremony in Chișinău, Al Jazeera reported.
“Thanks to this project, we are strengthening our electricity transmission capacity, diversifying our means of supply,” Sandu said at the ceremony, Al Jazeera reported. She said “two more power lines to Romania are on the way.”
European Commissioner Marta Kos, who attended, said Moldova could now “buy energy where it is cheapest,” Al Jazeera reported. The project was launched two years after the date Moldovan authorities first promised, the network reported.
Sandu’s claim on Russian gas
“For decades, Moscow used energy to blackmail us. No more: Moldova buys zero Russian gas,” Sandu wrote on social media. Both outlets quoted the post.
Moldova, a country of 2.6 million people, received most of its gas from Russia through separatist Transnistria and pipelines running through Ukraine, Al Jazeera reported.
“Every time Moldova dares to choose something other than what Moscow wants, they threaten to cut our electricity,” Sandu said, according to Al Jazeera.
The Transnistria plant
The line allows Moldova to reduce its reliance on the Cuciurgan thermal power plant in Transnistria, Al Jazeera reported. Cuciurgan is Moldova’s largest power station and is owned by the Moscow-based company Inter RAO, one of Russia’s biggest public energy firms, the Kyiv Independent reported. Moldova previously depended heavily on the plant, the outlet said.
Energy strain and Black Sea tensions
Moldova’s parliament approved a state of emergency last month, running until Nov. 20, as the government tries to ease gas shortages, Al Jazeera reported. The measure was requested by the government amid high world energy prices, the network said.
The European Union is banning all Russian gas as of next year, the Kyiv Independent reported. Washington has proposed resuming Russian gas exports to Europe through a U.S. intermediary as part of peace efforts, the outlet reported. An EU official told the Kyiv Independent that Europe was unlikely to agree.
Romania blamed Russia last month for a drone strike that sank a cargo ship off its Black Sea coast, Al Jazeera reported. The Boston Report covered that attack in October. NATO said it would send more maritime patrol aircraft, radar systems and drones to the Black Sea, Al Jazeera reported.
More coverage is on the Europe page and the energy and commodity security page.
Sources
- Al Jazeera: Moldova launches new power line to Romania to cut reliance on Russia
- Kyiv Independent: Moldova ‘buys zero Russian gas,’ launches new power line to EU
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