Report: Energy reforms in the Republic of Moldova are advancing despite the war in Ukraine
Despite the destabilizing impact of Russia's war against Ukraine, many contracting parties have made progress in reforming their energy sectors, says a report to be presented by the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community on 15 December. According to the report, Ukraine managed to keep the reforms in many areas, while the Republic of Moldova has used the crisis to advance energy reforms that were almost unimaginable just a year ago.
Countries in the region are encouraged to continue to improve their regulatory and legal frameworks to boost the adoption of renewable energy. More progress is also needed in encouraging energy efficiency and energy savings in all sectors and replacing broadly regulated retail prices with support targeted at vulnerable customers, reads the report. On the other hand, several deficiencies in the implementation of the environmental law are highlighted, which remain worrying in terms of pollution standards and the quality of authorization procedures. In this context, Constantin Borosan, the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Infrastructure and Regional Development, states that this year the Electricity Market Rules, approved by ANRE in August 2020, entered into force. An important step in ensuring energy security was the initiation of design activities and construction of the Vulcanesti - Chisinau power line. Some actions were directed towards the reform of the natural gas sector, such as the registration starting from November 1, 2022 of the operator Moldovatransgaz on the RBP/Regional Booking Platform which offers the possibility of booking capacity to any European gas trader. The report is due to be presented at the Ministerial Council of the Energy Community on December 15 in Vienna.
