How Varnița residents are preparing for potential power outages
Some villages on the right bank of the Nistru, dependent on Russian gas, risk being left without gas starting January 1, due to a possible halt in supplies from Russia to the Transnistrian region. The village of Varnița will also be affected, as the locality is dependent on Transnistrian energy resources. Residents say they are preparing for potential power outages by stockpiling firewood, and some are buying electric generators.
Ana Bordei is a resident of the village of Varnița. The woman says she is prepared in case there are gas or power outages: “We have stoves and we still have spare firewood, we will buy coal. We will save. Our parents did not live better, and we also did when we were children. We will pay for what we use. - Would you agree to pay more for gas? - Yes”.
The Bordei family puts all their hope in the stove that the couple built 20 years ago, and in case of power outages, they will most likely buy a generator. “We have a stove, we have coal and wood, we have wood chips, wood, whatever we can find. We have old pots, large pans and we will cook on the stove. We thought about a generator, but we have not decided yet,”, said Gheorghe Bordei.
Andrei Ostap, another resident of Varnița, says that he is prepared for possible gas or electricity outages. The man says that he has wood reserves and a generator as a solution for a more complicated situation.
Other villagers said that they are preparing in advance for the situation in which there will be a lack of electricity or gas. Wood and generators are among the main solutions in case of disconnections:
“I’m buying a generator; I’ve already ordered it. - Do you want to buy a generator? - Yes, a powerful generator and we’ll get out of the situation. - But with wood? - I have wood and everything.”
“I’m making a fire and that’s it. - Do you mean with wood? - Yes. - Do you think it will be enough for you? - It won’t be enough for me, I’ll go buy it. - But in case you run out of gas, will you cook on the stove? - Yes. Since 2017, we did not have gas.”
“We’ll buy generators, we’ll manage. - Aren’t you afraid? - No, no, it’s not the first time, it was in 2009 too. We’re ready.”
Starting from December 16, a state of emergency in the energy sector was declared for 60 days throughout the Republic of Moldova. The country faces the risk of an energy crisis if the Russian concern Gazprom interrupts natural gas supplies to the Transnistrian region. Authorities warn that such a situation could cause a humanitarian crisis on the left bank of the Nistru, where about 300 thousand people live. Also, the energy crisis could cause electricity disconnections and increase prices on the right bank of the Nistru, said the authorities.
